The Demon Within
by Dregmir
Summary: Raven and Beast Boy begin a relationship while evil plots against the Titans. Could the villains have some sort of power behind them? And what will happen when the ultimate evil makes an appearance? *BBRae* with RobStar / CyJinx.
1. Chapter 1: Strange Dreams

**_A/N:_**_I'm not one for a lot of authors notes, so just enjoy the story. Feel free to message me with questions or suggestions._

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, though I wish I did.**

**_»§«_**

**Chapter 1: Strange Dreams**

A demonic voice echoed as Slade slowly drifted in and out of sleep. He was currently at one of his many hidden bases inside Jump City. He maintained multiples in case the Titans or one of his enemies found where he was, he was a bit paranoid after all.

"Slade…!"

Slade opened his eye slowly, and looked around. He wasn't in his room anymore.

"SLADE…!"

"What do you want from me?" The cold but calm demand came from Slade. He noticed the area he was in was completely black; he couldn't see anything at all. His bed wasn't there, nor was anything from his home. Panic started to slowly set in. He stifled his feelings and began to consider what was happening.

He clenched his fists, or what he thought were his fists, when he looked down he saw nothing, just complete darkness.

Slade began to panic at what he saw, or didn't see. 'Where are my hands?' Noticing that he was panicking, he quickly regained control.

"SLADE!" echoed the demonic voice, this time in a mild yell.

He sat up. Slade was back in his room, he had sweat pouring down his face. His hair was completely matted to his forehead. Breathing heavily, he swung his legs to the side and put his head in his hands. He rubbed his eye and then he brushed his hair off his face.

Slade lifted his head and glanced at his immediate environment. He had spent the better part of four years building this current hideout, sparing no expense. Floors were made of a fine dark wood, in contrast to the immaculate white walls devoid of any decorative object. It was furnished with a rich mahogany bedframe, dresser and desk. On top of his desk was his computer, with three monitors all running security. None of the alarms had been raised, so he was sure no one was in his place.

He stood up and put on his mask, which was half orange and half black, which had become a part of him. He wore it almost every minute of consciousness. Moving to the PC and sitting down in his leather swivel chair, he turned off the monitors, content that there was no danger for the moment. He then looked back onto the blank screen. The moonlight was coming through the window and he could lightly see his reflection on the monitor. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were shaking.

'It couldn't have been a premonition, I've never had powers like that… but why am I shaking?'

He looked back up at the monitor expecting to see his faint image on the screen but instead saw just his mask, but this time there were two glowing red eyes on one side of his face.

**_»§«_**

She opened her eyes.

"Slade…" she heard a demonic voice call out.

She heard a quick burst of rushing air and saw Slade's mask with two vibrant red eyes on it glaring at her inches from her face. She closed her eyes and screamed.

"AHHHH!"

Her vision flashed white; Slade's face was no longer there. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in a plane of black. It was so black, it could be considered nothingness. After a minute her vision noticed something that stuck out. She could see a tree, drenched in red at the bottom of it, looking as though it was covered in leaves during fall. She began to move towards it. After what seemed like ten minutes, the tree began to focus more in her view. The tree was grey, and decrepit, black leaves were slowly falling from the tree. Raven looked around, there was nothing else, and the area was just black. She walked around to the other side of the tree and what she saw nearly brought tears to her eyes. Beast Boy was lying on the ground, eyes closed, his body lacerated. The red that she had considered leaves was in fact copious amounts of blood. He looked up at her slowly, eyes bloodied, and he reached a shaking hand out.

"Rae…"

She sat bolt upright, cold sweat all over her.

'What… why... how?' She fumbled with her sentence in her head.

Raven tried to remember everything that just happened, but all she could remember was Beast Boy. She looked over her room, her eyes adjusted to the dark. The sun was starting to rise outside but nothing was creeping through the indigo shades she had on her window.

'I need to meditate. I have to keep control of my powers. I can't let these feelings overpower me.'

She then got out of bed, got dressed, and grabbed a book to read after she finished meditating and headed out of the room.

_**»§«**_

Beast Boy was your average run of the mill, lanky green teenager – minus the fact he could change into any animal he could think of. He was one of the shortest Titans, being just a hair shorter than Raven, but he was growing and would no doubt be taller in his late teens. He had emerald green eyes and hair which always stood on end.

He woke up at noon to the sound of his alarm going off, and sat up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned widely. He slipped out from the sheets on his bunk bed, eyes still closed.

"I better get going… I'm sure everyone else is awake and Robin said we had training today."

He reached over to turn off the alarm and it was at this point that Beast Boy remembered that he slept on a bunk bed and had slept in the top bunk last night.

"ARRRGHH!"

Beast Boy landed on his face, with his legs comically strewn above him.

"Well that's one way to wake up." He stated groggily, with a sigh.

Struggling, he got to his feet and slammed his fist on the alarm clock. It made a slow whining noise, and steam rose from it. He'd need another alarm clock… again. He picked it up, unplugged it and threw it into one of the many piles that were scattered around his room. Far from being a mess in his eyes, everything was organized by piles. This same theory is used by teenage boys who are particularly lazy.

He walked out of his room, not wanting to change or shower. The Teen Titans tended to wear their uniforms to bed, in case they had to leave at night to stop a bad guy, and also because they were comfy. Beast Boy considered a shower, but thought he might as well wait until after the training that Robin definitely had in store for them later in the day.

He walked down the hall to the common room. He could hear Cyborg and Robin playing together on the GameStation while he strode up the hallway. The automatic doors whooshed open as he walked into the room. Robin and Cyborg were indeed on the GameStation, Starfire was sitting next to Robin cheering him on, but Raven was nowhere to be seen.

'Wonder where Raven is.' He pondered.

He strode into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He pushed all the bacon and ham that Cyborg had most likely left in front on purpose to the side, and grabbed his Tofu eggs.

"Hey BB, about time you got up." Cyborg said, scaring the changeling a bit. Even with his sensitive hearing he must have been too focused on the growling of his stomach to hear the metallic man creep up behind him.

Cyborg was Beast Boy's best friend and his greatest competitor. He was half robot and half man, due to an accident that had happened during High School. His tech glowed a light blue which stood out against the white and black plating that covered his body, and ended with his mechanical red eye.

"Ready to get your butt kicked in Mega Monkeys 5?"

"Dude, you went out and got it!?" he practically yelled, covering Cyborg in spit.

"Umm yeah, why wouldn't I?" he said, wiping the torrent of spit from his face.

"It's brand new, I knew that you'd want to get your butt kicked on it a.s.a.p."

"In your dreams chrome-dome, let me finish making food and we'll have a go."

Cyborg shrugged, figuring that Beast Boy would forget breakfast and want to play right away, but gave him his space to make some food.

Beast Boy had returned to the task at hand. He looked deep in thought, though none of the other Titans had noticed. Starfire and Robin had sat down at the table and were in conversation. Cyborg was now sitting on the couch, lazily flipping through channels, though never settling on anything. Beast Boy began to cook, cracking the eggs and making sure that the heat wasn't too high on the "Cook-o-matic 5000" that Cyborg had personally built.

'I wonder what Raven is up to… she's usually sitting there reading. I had a really good joke to try today.'

'Maybe she's on the roof meditating like normal. I'll go find her and tell her my joke after I beat Cy.' He pondered.

**_»§«_**

The sky was clouded, the sun actively trying to peak through. The smell of fresh rain was still in the air. On the roof of the Titan's tower, Raven was sitting in her normal lotus position, eyes closed, quietly chanting her mantra.

Raven was a stunning looking girl, though she never had thought this much of herself. She had shoulder length lilac colored hair, and amethyst eyes. She had pale skin, and her chakra gem which was embedded in the middle of her forehead was blood red.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She quietly repeated to herself.

The wind was calm, but it still created a nice cool breeze. Raven's hood quivered in the wind, strands of her dark purple hair blew from under her hood. She was wearing her typical uniform, a blackish-purple leotard and her iconic dark blue cloak. A thick leather-bound book sat on the ground near where she was. Her eyes slowly opened as she came out of her mediation.

'Well. That should be enough to deal with Beast Boy and Cyborg for now.'

It usually took a lot of restraint not to get angry or show any emotions to her fellow teammates, especially Beast Boy since he always tried to make her laugh with pathetic jokes. The only time he was actually funny was when one of his pranks backfired on him.

Raven slowly took her legs out of the lotus position as she landed on the ground softly. She put her hands up and lowered her hood, taking in the surroundings. It was a rare occurrence to see Raven without her hood up, though in private she almost always had it down. She stretched her arms back and closed her eyes, taking in the smells, finding that she was very calm.

'The others should definitely be up by now. I might as well go down and get some lunch,' she considered.

Raven slowly used her powers to lift her book as she walked away. It zoomed after her, and then slid into place under her arm. She began to walk down the stairs and phased through the floor at the bottom step.

Raven hadn't noticed the single tear stain that had moved down her face when she woke from her meditation.

_**»§«**_

Beast Boy, who had finished making breakfast (even though it was lunchtime for everyone else) had wolfed it down in one bite (A/N: no pun intended). He vaulted over the couch, landing right next to Cyborg.

"Ready to face "Master Beast Boy", Cy?"

"HAHA, yeah grass-stain, I'm ready" Cyborg retorted.

Cyborg and Beast Boy began frantically pressing buttons and moving around as though it would help their characters on the screen. Mega Monkeys 5 could easily be described as a monkey brawl game. Both Beast Boy and Cyborg had their sides of the screen, and they earned points by beating up monkeys and stealing their bananas.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were so wrapped up in their game and Robin and Starfire in their conversation that no one seemed to notice the half-demoness in the kitchen, who had just recently portaled in.

Robin - also known as the Boy Wonder - was Batman's protégé. He was of medium height, well-built due to meticulous training and always wore his signature black mask that covered his eyes matching his gelled up jet black hair. No one knew who he really was, and he liked it that way. Starfire, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of Robin; she had a bubbly personality that infected every aspect of her social life. She wore a purple top and matching purple skirt, which stood out against her bright green eyes. She was alien royalty, being the daughter of the King and Queen of Tamaran, though she much preferred her life on Earth, helping the Teen Titans protect humans.

"Good Afternoon, friend Raven!" Starfire called.

"Hey Star." Raven responded in her monotone voice.

She slowly was using her powers to make some herbal tea. Raven loved her tea. It helped her keep calm and deal with the day to day happenings inside the tower.

Beast Boy looked up from his game, as a big "YOU LOSE" played across his side of the screen.

"Hey Rae! I have go to tell you the best joke I came up-" he started.

Beast Boy didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. The alarm in the Tower had gone off signaling that there was some sort of emergency occurring.

Raven sent one of her signature glares over at Beast Boy.

'Saved by the bell, literally.' She exclaimed in her head, being careful not to be _too_ happy about it.

Beast Boy groaned looking at the glare he got from Raven for calling her "Rae", and Robin quickly made his way to the giant screen.

"What's wrong, Mayor?" Robin stated very business-like.

Everyone was now staring at the semi-plump man who had won the mayoral race a couple years ago. He looked frightened, but relieved to see the Titans.

"There's a small group of those H.I.V.E. members robbing a bank downtown. I've sent you the location. Please stop them!"

His image disappeared from the screen, displaying a map with a giant red dot on it. It was the Jump City Depository; they all knew where it was. It was frequently robbed, and it was also right on the same street as the Titan's favorite pizza place.

Robin pulled up a feed of the security camera outside the bank.

"It's Mammoth, Gizmo and Jinx. They've already broken in; we have to get there quickly, if we want to stop them."

"Let's get there in style then." A smile broke out across Cyborg's face.

Robin had no idea how he'd been talked into it, but he was now a passenger in the T-car. Cyborg was driving, of course, as he claimed he wouldn't let anyone else ever drive his "baby". Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy were all crammed in the back, Raven stuck in the middle.

Cyborg threw it into gear and the car rocketed forward. Within 5 minutes, they were heading down the street that held the bank.

When Cyborg drifted the car to a stop in front of the bank, Cyborg, Robin and Starfire hopped out. Trying desperately to get out quickly, Raven decided to portal herself. After coming up out of the ground near the rest of the Titans, she felt something attached to her right leg. Looking down, she saw her cowering green teammate.

"Beast Boy, why are you on my leg?" She said a little panic and anger in her voice. He let go of her leg.

"I guess I was touching you when you teleported, that's how it works right? I'm sorry!"

Raven looked over Beast Boy, he was still cowering, apparently ready to be hit, or feel some impact from something thrown at him. She felt bad, but appreciated the fact that he apologized, even though it was her fault for not looking. Beast Boy had lowered his arms a bit, not receiving the expected hit. She looked into his eyes and felt a warm wave pass over her. She couldn't be mad with him.

"I-I should have looked, sorry."

"What?!" cried Beast Boy.

A finger was on his lips now. He went red.

"Shhhhh. You'll need to be careful next time, and don't let the others hear me apologizing, or they'll think I went soft."

Raven moved her finger away glad her hood was up to cover her own blush, gave a weak grin and turned to the other Titans.

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg hadn't heard and were looking at the front of the building.

"Well. We saw them enter, so we know this is the right place. But where are they? Usually when Mammoth is involved, the doors are off the hinges and there's some smoke coming from the building." Robin said rhetorically.

Suddenly, the doors blew open and a cloud of smoke with three shadows hidden in it, drifted out onto the pavement. The Titans got ready for a fight.

Mammoth, Gizmo, and Jinx appeared as the smoke dissipated.

Mammoth was standing in the middle of the three, further forward, glaring menacingly. Mammoth was a huge man, standing close to seven feet. He had reddish hair and a goatee, which stood out against his black and gold jumpsuit he wore all the time. Standing next to him on his left was Gizmo, a very small, extremely intelligent teen who had a bone to pick with Cyborg. He wore a green one piece suit with build in shoes, and his iconic backpack, which held all of his technology. Jinx was the farthest back, a neutral look on her face. She had bubblegum pink hair, and pink eyes. She wore an outfit similar in color to Raven's, but wore black and purple leggings and boots.

The three villains looked out over the street and saw the Titans standing there waiting.

"About time you crud-sniffers showed up." Gizmo chuckled.

"Quiet pint-sized, you're about to be heading back to jail, don't seem so happy."

Cyborg popped his cannon out of his arm and leveled it with Gizmo, granted he had to point it down, but you get the idea.

"Throw down the money and come quietly. It'll be better for all of us if you do."

"Not going to happen, Robin. You guys are a bit late and we have what we came for," replied Jinx.

Suddenly, all three of the villains split. Mammoth went straight at the Titans, who all leaped or flew out of the way. Jinx and Gizmo were already running in separate directions when Robin called out orders.

"Raven, Beast Boy, you two go after Gizmo. Cyborg, you go after Jinx. Starfire and I will take of Mammoth. TITANS GO!"

That was all that had to be said; the respective members nodded, and began to split up.

Raven reached out her hand and grabbed Beast Boy's. She was busy thinking about the fight and didn't notice the look of horror on his extremely red face. Raven was so focused on the fact that they had to stop Gizmo. She had grabbed hold of Beast Boy and begun to think of the roof of the building Gizmo was flying towards.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She said.

They were swallowed up by her black vortex of energy and appeared on the rooftop right in front of Gizmo.

"Didn't think it would be that easy, did you pipsqueak?" said Raven. Beast Boy smirked.

**_»§«_**

Cyborg had bounded off after Jinx the second he was told to by Robin. In all honesty, he was elated that Robin had said go after Jinx, and alone at that.

He saw her turn the corner up ahead and he chased after her. Right as he was about to catch up to her, he noticed a pink glow emanate from the edge. He stopped running, put his cannon away, and walked around it, to find the pink haired sorceress standing there with her hip cocked and one hand on it.

"I've been wondering if you were getting out of shape _Stone_, figured you'd have caught me before I got here."

"Never." He responded simply, flexing his mechanical muscles.

No one else had known, but recently Jinx and Cyborg had reconciled with what happened when he went undercover at the H.I.V.E. Academy. Both Cyborg and Jinx knew at the academy that they had crushes on each other, especially after they went to the dance together. They had been romantically involved, but weren't in the habit doing "normal couple things", such as going on dates. It was hard for a villain to go to a movie without someone screaming at her. They saw each other rarely and when they did, they were usually on opposite sides of the battlefield. Cyborg had half a mind (no pun intended) to change that.

Jinx walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Sorry it's been awhile." She muttered.

"I am too. I wish we could be more open, and just go out and do things like a normal couple…" his voice trailed off.

"A couple? Does that mean that you consider me your girlfriend, tin-head?"

"W-Well... I-I figured since we…"

"Oh stop talking and kiss me."

Jinx put her arms around Cyborg's neck and pulled him close.

**_»§«_**

"Watch out Starfire!" Robin called out in panic.

Mammoth had picked up a car and swung it wildly at Starfire. She quickly ducked it thanks to Robin's warning. She turned on the spot and encased energy within her fist and slammed into Mammoth's stomach. The giant skidded back about 10 feet, and looked up at Starfire, his pupils gone, now just white. Starfire gave him the same cold glare back, except her eyes glowed green with power.

Mammoth stood up and began to gain speed as he moved towards Starfire. Now at a full run, his focus locked on Starfire, he didn't notice Robin who had pulled out his Bo staff and was now halfway in the air with his arms over him. He came down hard on Mammoth's head and knocked the giant into the ground, the pavement gave way making a Mammoth sized dent in it.

Starfire glided down to the ground, apparently relaxed now that Mammoth was knocked out. She landed near Robin and smiled at him. He rubbed the back of his neck and returned the smile. Everything had been said without the need of words. Robin tied up Mammoth and both he and Starfire considered going to help the others, but figured they'd return soon with their respective villain in hand.

**»§«**

"Didn't think it would be that easy, did you pipsqueak?" said Raven, Beast Boy smirked.

"You super-dunces won't be able to stop me with my new gadgets!"

"Try us." Both Raven and Beast Boy said in unison.

Gizmo rose into the air higher, and from his backpack, popped out his ultimate weapon - the self-named Gizmo-tron. The Gizmo-tron was a small box that landed in front of the two Titans, and then slowly, began to unfold. It kept unfolding and unfolding, into a towering menace. Eight feet tall, the Gizmo-tron stood straight and cannons and missiles began to pop out from all over its body.

Beast Boy looked scared a bit. He had his arms up in an almost cowering stance. Raven maintained her cold glare.

"Is that it?" Raven questioned – putting a hand on her hip, clearly unimpressed.

"Well. Yeah!" replied the smaller Teen.

"It's not much."

Raven's eyes glowed white with a black outline. An aura of black energy appearing around her, she raised her hand and said in a cold tone.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The Gizmo-tron was quickly enveloped in black energy. The sound was something Beast Boy didn't recognize. It sounded like a car rubbing against a wall, like crunching metal. The Gizmo-tron began to shake and then it happened. It quickly imploded on itself, forming a giant metal ball. Raven drew her hand to the side. The ball flew off the roof and 10 seconds later a "thud" was heard as it impacted the ground.

Beast Boy was amazed; he had never seen Raven really control her powers with such ferocity. She was usually afraid to let them go this far. Raven, eyes still glowing, then lifted her arm again, and Gizmo's backpack was enveloped in energy as well. She pulled Gizmo closer to herself with a wave of her hand. The backpack buckles popped off when he was closer to Beast Boy and Gizmo fell right on his butt in front of him. Beast Boy then noticed Gizmo's hands had been bound in dark energy and the backpack gone from sight. It was over; he hadn't needed to do anything.

Raven had made sure today, that of all days, she protected Beast Boy. She didn't know why. He could easily take care of himself, but she didn't want to let anything happen to him.

'That's weird… I know he can take care of himself… why am I worrying so much over this dream? I can barely remember most of it anyway.' she wondered.

"Let's get back to the others, Beast Boy."

Raven took his hand, and Beast Boy grabbed onto Gizmo.

'Third time today. How can she take my hand so easily? She's not even gripping it, it's just a gentle touch… This was just a thing she needed to do to teleport us.' He concluded.

In a second after he finished his thought, he felt the dark energy envelop the trio and then saw Robin and Starfire staring at them.

**_»§«_**

"Cy.."

"Yeah?"

"Can… I.."

"What's wrong?"

Jinx was now rubbing her arm, in a cute pose. Cyborg hated when she did this. He usually always gave in.

"I've been thinking about what I do..."

"Oh?" he replied simply, not sure where she was going completely.

"Yeah… I kinda... want to stop." She looked at the ground after finishing her sentence, obviously embarrassed, scared and a bit sad. "Don't make this harder on me, I'm used to being sarcastic."

"Let's go." He replied simply. He didn't like what he was about to do. He missed Jinx when she was feisty and carefree, even with the abundance of sarcasm. Cyborg would do anything to make her happy again.

Jinx looked up, scared of what was happening, but he didn't get cuffs out, or force her. He merely held out his hand. She took it and began to fall into step next to him.

"I have to ask, but what part of this robbery did you take part in?"

"Barely anything… They had me open the lock because of my powers, hexes and all… but we were under orders to go and get it and they would have known I defected…" her voice trailed off.

"I need you to help me..." she finished.

"I'm always willing to help. I'm sure if we talk it over with Robin, you can give him some information on these handlers who gave you orders. I'm sure we can get you free from whatever mess it is you're in." Cyborg said with a smile.

Jinx looked happier than he had seen her recently. However, he wasn't. He was starting to fall in love with her, and was afraid that Robin would directly cause a problem with their relationship because of the fact she was still a villain. However, Robin seemed to be very happy with people who defect and want to change. So he figured that would count for something, and if Jinx knew enough, then Robin would forget about what she did and focus more on how she could help.

They continued walking, hand in hand. Back to where the other Titans were.

"Here we go…" Cyborg said taking a deep breath.

_**»§«**_

Robin, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy were all standing around the T-car. Having captured both Mammoth and Gizmo, the fight was basically over, and they expected Cyborg to be back any second. And sure enough, they were right, but the sight that greeted them was different from what they expected.

"Friend Robin, why is friend Cyborg holding Jinx's hand?" Starfire questioned.

Robin turned to see what was unfolding. He had his back turned while questioning Gizmo - Mammoth was still knocked out. What he saw made his eyes bulge.

"CYBORG WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He yelled.

Cyborg lowered his head, but continued walking until he was within speaking distance.

"I have to talk to you, Robin."

"Well, hell yeah you do. Why is she not bound?"

"Can we talk away from the others?"

"Fine, but only for a minute - Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, watch these three."

The three Titans nodded and watched Cyborg and Robin walk out of hearing distance, further than that due to Beast Boy's enhanced hearing from his animal DNA.

"Robin, remember when you sent me undercover into the H.I.V.E Academy?"

"Of course, what does that have to do with anything though?"

"Well, when I was in there, I had a relationship with Jinx. She hated me when she found out who I really was, but recently we've been able to fix our problems and we… kind of started dating."

"What the hell are you talking about, she's the enemy! She just robbed a bank! She's just using this relationship keep herself out of jail." Robin replied somewhat impatiently.

"Well, she may be, but she offered up information on the heist, as well as anything else you want to know. She doesn't want to commit crimes anymore." Cyborg said, crossing his arms.

"…"

Robin stood with his arms crossed, staring blankly at Cyborg.

"We'll talk more about this back at the Tower. Let's go." Robin sighed.

The two returned to the rest of the Titans and the bound H.I.V.E members. Jinx looked up at Cyborg, and he smiled weakly.

'Everything will be alright.' He thought, trying to silently convey this to her.

Robin then spoke up.

"Cyborg, take Jinx to the holding cells in the Tower. I'll wait here and give these two over to the authorities. Beast Boy, Raven, could you teleport back? I'd like Cyborg to only have to worry about one person in the car."

Raven nodded, but this time, she felt something. Beast Boy had reached out and grabbed her hand. She looked back, a slight bit of scarlet evident on her pale skin. Beast Boy showed her his big, stupid grin he plastered on his face. With that, the two sunk down into the vortex of dark energy she had created.

Cyborg helped Jinx into the passenger seat of his T-car. He then walked around and got in the driver seat. The car hummed to life and began its trip back home to the Tower.

"Friend Robin, I wish to stay with you." Starfire exclaimed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Star."

Starfire smiled and walked over to Robin. She slowly reached for his hand, and grasped it. He was shocked at her forwardness, but returned her squeeze and smiled.

**_»§«_**

"Dude, I will _NEVER_ get used to that."

"I'm sure you will. It didn't take me very long."

"Yeah, but you're… you!" he sounded exasperated.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Raven placed a hand on her hip and glared at Beast Boy.

"Ummm…" Beast Boy knew he was in trouble now.

"Nothing? Why did you portal us here by the way?" quickly trying to divert her attention from his remark.

Raven hadn't noticed where her mind had chosen to portal them; all she thought of when she was teleporting, was home. They had ended up on the roof. The sun was going down; it had sunk enough to go below the cloud line and left the bumpy clouds with a purplish-orange glow.

"I don't know." She responded, finally.

Beast Boy walked over to the edge of the tower and sat down.

'I need to go to my room and meditate. Squishing that robot took a lot out of me, and I have a lot on my mind."

"Rae?"

She wanted to glare at him for calling her "Rae", but thought better of it.

"What Beast Boy?"

"Want to sit and watch with me?"

"Not really." She replied coldly.

"Oh... alright then..."

Raven could have sworn she heard Beast Boy mumble something a long the lines of "alone..." She now felt a bit of guilt. She shook it off, knowing she was going to stay, but not wanting her emotions to affect her powers.

Beast Boy closed his eyes and felt the last waves of the sun shine on him as it slowly sank down under the golden horizon. He figured she had left.

"I can't do anything right…" he mumbled.

"That's not true."

The voice scared him. He popped his eyes open and turned to the sound of the voice. Raven was now sitting close right next to him.

'Why did I sit down next to him? What am I still doing here? This is Beast Boy, _**THE**_ Beast Boy. He always causes me problems and I always get angry with him. Why do I have to feel guilty?' She mulled this thought for a moment.

'But he did come save me when I needed help with my _father_, and he does care about me. I can't believe I'm still sitting here.'

"What do you mean?" Beast Boy had regained the ability to speak and was now staring at Raven. She met his eyes, and was quickly lost in his gaze.

'Oh those eyes…'

She regained her composure after being stunned by his eyes and responded "I've never seen you mess up in a fight, you wouldn't still be on the team if that weren't true. People say you're not the smartest, but I beg to differ. I've seen you think quickly and brilliantly on the battlefield and overcome innumerable odds."

"Where is Raven and what have you done with her?"

She tried her best to stifle a small laugh, but it came out. She had giggled. A few floors down a window had blown out, courtesy of Raven's laugh.

'Oh no… why did I do that?' Raven chanted her mantra in her head to restore her composure.

"Ok, now I really know it isn't you. Raven never laughs at my jokes."

"Sometimes I just can't. You know my emotions run my powers. Showing anything other than neutral can cause problems." She replied, hanging her head down.

"I'm sorry Rae…"

"Don't worry about it. The sun is about to go down and I'm getting a bit cold, I'm going inside. And don't call me Rae." She gave him a cold glare.

'There's the Raven I remember. Maybe now I should tell her my joke.'

"Hey Raven, I still have that joke from earlier."

"No, Beast Boy."

With that, she stood up. Beast Boy followed suit, a smile on his face and they slowly walked inside.

**_»§«_**

Cyborg was driving the T-car like a crazy man, hurdling it forward with every ounce of power he could draw from the engine.

"What's Robin going to do with me?" Jinx asked calmly.

"I don't know, but when I mentioned you had information he calmed down very quickly and seemed to take into considering that you could help us."

"I'll be happy to tell him anything he wants, as long as you can protect me."

"I'm sure we can do better than that. If you're really honest about getting out of the villain-game and want to help us, I'm sure he'd ask you to join the team - or at the very least become an honorary Titan."

Cyborg looked over at Jinx. Her eyes were glassy, as though she was about to cry. He reached out and took her hand.

"It'll be ok. Just relax, and be happy."

She nodded quickly and wiped her eyes with her free arm.

"I'm going to have to follow his orders and put you in a holding cell. Robin won't be gone long and I'm sure we can have this cleared up before the end of the day. It's only six right now."

She again, nodded and a smile came to her face.

"I don't mind, I know I've caused you guys trouble over the past year. I have a lot to answer for."

"And I'm sure you'll do your best to help fix this. And Robin and the team will do the best to help you."

The car slowed down and Jinx looked out the windshield to see the Tower, and the garage coming up. She had been in the tower before when H.I.V.E had taken over, and it wasn't a friendly memory, but she was hoping that she could at least make up for the problems she's caused.

**_»§«_**

Raven was in her room, thinking. She usually did this and meditated at the same time, but today was different; she couldn't stop thinking about Beast Boy, lacerated in her dream.

'Why am I worrying about this so much? Arghhhh!"

'Maybe you care.' came a voice.

'Of course I do.' She stated to herself quite easily. Raven had taken the voice quite literally. Of course she cared about her teammates and she wouldn't want anything to happen to them. The voice in her mind giggled softly hearing exactly what she was thinking, and kept quiet. The voice knew Raven would arrive at the desired understanding on her own.

Raven, now frustrated got up and walked around her room. No one had ever seen her pace, and she wanted to keep it that way. Her friends would be pressured into asking if she was alright, and Raven didn't want to deal with their questions. She looked up, and in all her frustration had not noticed the 10 or so items floating in her room surrounded by a black aura.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

The items floated back down, softly landing in their original positions.

**_»§«_**

Slade had been thinking all day.

'I can still hear that voice in my head. I've had training to block out mental intrusions. I have work to do I can't be bothered with this mess now.' He thought extremely frustrated.

Slade was indeed right. He had training that prevented mind control and things getting inside his head to cause problems, but somehow this lingered. He was in his living room now. The TV was off, and he was just sitting on the couch. His living room, unlike his bedroom, was fully covered with many expensive looking paintings and sculptures. He leaned forward, and stood up.

"Master Wilson."

The voice was something Slade was used to hearing. It was the voice of his friend and sort of butler, Wintergreen.

"Something has been troubling you all day, sir. May I ask what it is that has you stressed?"

"Nothing Wintergreen, I just had a bad night is all."

"May I suggest getting an early night tonight, sir? I know you still want to devise a plan to take down the Titans, but it can easily wait until morning when you are feeling better."

"No, Wintergreen. I have a few things I must finish before I turn in."

Slade turned and walked to his library. He sat down at the desk and flipped a switch. The desk popped up and flipped open, unfolding itself like Gizmo's Gizmo-tron. He now sat in front of a PC with about ten monitors. Before the PC could turn on, he glanced at the screens, afraid he would still be portrayed with two red eyes. No such thing.

'I guess it really was just a bad night.'

All feelings of stress melted away. He had thrown the idea that someone was able to get into his mind out the window. The PC monitors clicked on, the brightness making him close his eye for a second. He connected in through his proxy and made sure he wasn't being traced. He then spent a bit of time trying to find the IP for The Brain's main computer. The Brain was the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil. Slade had dealt with them before, but in a more competitive manner. This time he wanted to talk to the B.O.E. to see if they could assist with his plan to take down the Titans. After about an hour, he connected in with Brain's computer. Slade prepared himself for what was about to come.

"Brain." He stated icily.

Staring back at him through the webcam video that was present on his screen was The Brain, an evil genius, literally in a jar. His body was made of metals that Slade could only guess at, red eyes glared at him, though nothing like the ones from his dream. A neon green glow emanated from The Brain as he spoke back to Slade.

"Slade… How did you get into my mainframe?"

Brain knew exactly how, he was just surprised he had found his IP and was able to connect in so easily. Brain had in fact developed his own protection from the outside world for his PC, so he thought it was unlikely anyone would be able to break his encryption.

"Easily… I have business to discuss with you." Slade replied dryly.

"Yes, it would appear so."

**_»§«_**

_**A/N:**_ Well, hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to Review, and thanks for reading. Just so you know the way I write and post all comes down to Chapters. I write a chapter, then edit it, then move on. I currently have Chapters 1-3 all written and edited and will post Chapter 2, when I finish Chapter 4. So as I write a new chapter, I post an older one, just that way I can keep pumping content for you guys. Feel free to send me messages; I'll respond to every single one that I can.

_Next time in "The Demon Within": What's up with Raven being all touchy-feely? What business does Slade have with The Brain? What information will Jinx have for the Titans, and what will become of her? All that and more, next time._


	2. Chapter 2: Life Pauses Itself

A/N: Hello again guys. Chapter 2 is here. I'm taking a bit of time with each chapter, trying to make it perfect, and on top of that I have college I'm currently dealing with. So excuse me if it's delayed a bit, but I will always finish a FanFiction (In a reasonable amount of time. I'm looking at you people who posted in 2004-6 and still haven't updated even though you promised.)

Disclaimer: As I sadly said before, I do not own the Teen Titans.

**_»§«_**

**_Chapter 2: Life Pauses itself_**

Jinx had been in the holding room for two hours now. The room was basically the same thing you'd expect in a police station. It was a small room with one very bright light hanging over the shoddy table that had obviously received a lot of use. She was worried that maybe Robin had either forgotten about her, or maybe just wanted her to stew for a while. She paced the room, back and forth, her arms crossed, and her eyes staring at the floor.

'What's taking so long? I have information to give and Boy Blunder won't even bother to come down and give me a chance.' Jinx was starting to get angry.

She understood being put off, a little. The Titans had things to clean up and Robin did have his team to worry about. Though after seeing how easily Gizmo and Mammoth were captured, she shook the idea from her head, saying to herself, 'It couldn't have taken that long.'

All she could hear were her footsteps as she continued to pace, much longer and she'd dig a hole. She glanced over at the one-way mirror that was off center on the wall. She shook her head, and continued to pace.

Robin had been there for the better part of forty-five minutes. He stood, frozen like a statue, staring in at this pink haired girl who probably had just offered information to get out of jail. His mind flew back to the conversation he had with Cyborg about her. Cyborg might be wrong, but he was his friend and he wasn't about to give up on that trust. Robin shuffled through the file he had on his person. It had all the information one could ever need on Jinx.

He took a deep breath, and turned the doorknob, moving into the dimly lit room. Jinx stopped pacing, looking up as Robin made his way to one of the chairs. It screeched as he pulled it out and sat down. He motioned for Jinx to take the other seat, which she did.

"I've been reviewing your file. You've done some stuff I'm not too happy with." Robin said coldly.

"I know… I made mistake after mistake. Once I started, it was hard to stop." She replied, looking down, a regretful look on her face. She folded her hands in her lap.

"But Cyborg vouched for you." She looked up at him hopefully.

"So I'm willing to forgive all of this and we can talk about things."

Screeching was heard by both in the room, and Robin stood up and went over to the trashcan near the door and dropped the file in it.

"Don't make me regret this. I'm not one who gives second chances every day." Robin said tersely. "Cyborg says you have information for us. So I have a deal for you, do not take this lightly. This is your only second chance." The tone in his voice now wasn't angry; it seemed friendly though cautious. "The deal is," Robin continued "that you tell me anything I want to know, and then some. And I'll see whether I can make you an honorary Titan."

Robin had gritted his teeth. He would never have done this if Cyborg hadn't said she wanted to change and vouched for her. In fact, if she hadn't had information to give willingly, (even if Cyborg was vouching for her) he wouldn't have considered it. His methodical mind would see it as putting his team in jeopardy.

"W-What does that mean?" She stuttered, clearly surprised. The soft features of her face returned.

"If what you give is useful information, then I'd be glad to offer you a position on the team, here at Titans West."

Robin had been looking directly through her, lost in thought. 'Was she honestly going to hand over information?' he thought. If she did, then his whole attitude would change. He could believe a sincere change of heart. Jinx didn't look like someone who was having fun, though she looked hopeful.

"Robin?" Jinx asked quietly, treading carefully, as to not mess up her second chance.

"Yes?"

"I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know. I know you probably think I'm trying to get out of going to jail, or just trying to pull a fast one on you guys, but I'm honestly scared." That bit of information shocked Robin, why was she afraid?

Jinx continued after a small sigh, "I don't want to help the bad guys anymore; I'd rather help out the Titans. It must sound weird coming from me, but I do care deeply for Cyborg, and anything that will help you guys stay alive and fight against those that wish to cause harm to him, I'm willing to do."

The pink haired sorceress' eyes were glazed. She was tearing up. Where's Cyborg when you need him?

"Everything will be ok, Jinx." A voice called out.

Robin kept his gaze on Jinx, while she looked around, trying to see who had spoken.

'Cyborg must have been watching from the security camera.' Robin concluded to himself.

"Mind if I take over Robin? I know what you want figure out and I'd like to spend some time with her." Cyborg's voice said over the speaker.

Robin didn't say anything, he smiled weakly at Jinx, who returned it as such, then opened the door and walked out, making sure the door closed behind him. Jinx was left alone in the room, knowing she'd see her beau again in a minute, her stomach full of butterflies. Outside the room, Robin looked over and saw Cyborg standing, arms crossed, looking through the one-way mirror.

"I trust you, Cy. I don't know about her yet. It will take me time."

"I trust her, and I trust you. I can promise she won't cause any problems. Is there anything else that you want to know besides the movements of Slade or the Brotherhood of Evil?" Cyborg said without looking over.

"No, you can handle that. I'm going to go see Starfire." Robin sighed.

Cyborg glanced over as Robin left the room, a cold look on his face.

'Starfire will clear that right up. He can't help smiling when he's around her.'

Cyborg quickly walked to the door and opened it. Jinx stood up and began to move around the table, knocking over the chair she was in. Within a few seconds she had her arms around him.

**_»§«_**

**An hour later**

Robin walked mindlessly; he had just spent some time in his study trying to figure out why the H.I.V.E was robbing that bank, when he looked up he was outside the common room. He had no idea how he had gotten there. He sighed, having a lot on his mind. The doors whooshed open, and he walked through, the doors closing behind him.

"Friend Robin, glorious! What has happened with Jinx and friend Cyborg?" Starfire said with a giant smile on her face.

Robin's mood instantly elevated. He was relieved to see Starfire in a happy mood. She glided over to him.

"No idea, Star. I left Cyborg with Jinx in the interrogation room about an hour ago."

"Oh. Well then, since Raven and Beast Boy are absent as well, would you care to do the "hanging out" activity that Beast Boy and Cyborg talk about all the time?"

"Sure Star, want to watch some TV?" Robin started to move over to the couch and the TV. Starfire stopped him, not forcefully, or even with words. She grabbed his hand.

"Umm Star?" Robin was a bit taken aback, but was used to this kind of closeness from the Tamarean Princess and her signature death hugs.

"Yes, friend Robin?" She had a wicked smile plastered on her face.

Seeing her face and the smile, he knew that all along, she held feelings for him. Robin squeezed her hand, eliciting an even bigger smile on the Princess' face.

"Friend Robin, I believe now I would like to ask you to do the "going out".

Robin's face slowly started to droop. He hadn't anticipated this question at all. He knew Starfire was very affectionate towards him, more-so than her other teammates, but he didn't expect her to like-like him.

It was at this point, that Beast Boy walked into the room. He stopped in his tracks and stood completely still, bug-eyed. Robin would have given anything at this point to slowly seep into the floor Raven-style. Sadly, Robin lacked any such powers and instead was standing there frozen, his face plastered with a dumb stare. Robin panicked seeing Beast Boy, he quickly dropped Starfire's hand.

Starfire was not one to easily dampen. She believed Robin would have accepted her offer to do the "going out".

"I'm not interrupting anything… am I?" Beast Boy said, knowing he had.

"No Beast Boy. I was just having a chat with Starfire."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Robin tried to look normal, which everyone in the room knew he wasn't pulling off.

"Righttttt…" Beast Boy said, crossing his arms. "I can see that you guys need some alone time, give me one second."

Beast Boy walked over to the refrigerator and quickly grabbed a soda and turned to leave.

"By the way Robin," Beast Boy said as he was about to leave, "Hurry up and kiss her, everyone else thinks it's about time."

Robin's jaw dropped. What did he mean, "Everyone else thinks it's about time". Was he the only one who couldn't read Starfire? Guess the title of "World's Greatest Detective" still belonged to the Dark Knight.

**_»§«_**

"Ahem."

Robin turned back around to Starfire. Apparently when the Boy Wonder was considering what he should do next and why he hadn't see this coming, Beast Boy had vacated the room and Starfire was left standing there waiting.

"So Robin, will you do the "going out" with me?"

It was now or never. Robin straightened up and looked her dead in the eye.

"No."

A yell out in the hallway sounded "WHAT?" and was quickly covered up by this person's cohort shushing them.

Robin kept looking at Starfire, her eyes beginning to gloss over. Robin walked up closer to her and cupper her face in his hands.

"Don't take my job from me." He said with a grin.

Robin pulled Starfire closer and their lips met for their first kiss.

"I know just the place to go tonight." The Princess' face couldn't have beamed brighter.

**_»§«_**

Outside in the hallway, Beast Boy and Cyborg sat in the dark, their faces illuminated in a light blue glow. They were watching the security camera on Cyborg's 3D security display. Both had decided that spying wasn't the worst they could have done, and that Robin would get over it, especially once he heard what Cyborg had to say. He had finished his interview with Jinx, and with the amount of information he obtained for Robin, he was so sure of himself that he showed Jinx to a new room, her room. Though he was waiting for a time to tell Robin so he could use it as leverage, and it seemed like now was the time.

"It's about time!" They said in unison as Robin kissed Starfire.

Seconds later, Cyborg and Beast Boy noticed Robin walking towards the door where they were hiding. It opened up and looking down, Robin saw the two childish teens on the ground looking as though they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"You say anything. I mean anything. One tease, one anything, and I'll ask Starfire to cook for you for a week." Robin threatened.

Beast Boy's face went green. Well more green than he usually was. Cyborg's systems began to shut down; a small voice could be heard inside his head yelling "SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IMMINENT".

"We promise, we won't say a word! Just don't let her cook, PLEASE!" Beast Boy nearly lost his lunch speaking these words of appeasement.

It was then, that Cyborg's brain processed that Beast Boy was the only one not dating now, and he came out of "System Shutdown", with a grin on his face. Robin met his grin with complete understanding - maybe he hadn't lost his detective touch, Batman was still number one though.

"So Beast Boy, when are you going to ask out Raven?" Robin asked with a smile as he slowly ushered his gaze over to the changeling– pay back.

"WHAT!?" Beast Boy nearly had a heart attack.

Robin and Cyborg were now both rolling around on the ground, literally laughing their butts off. Beast Boy crossed his arms and waited for the two superheroes to stop laughing. Cyborg was the first to come out of his laughing stupor and clipped his posterior back on, as it had actually fallen off.

"Laugh it up guys." Beast Boy said, walking away.

As soon as everyone's favorite green teen had left the hallway, obviously heading towards his room, Robin turned to Cyborg.

"You don't think we hurt his feelings do you?"

"What? BB? He ain't one to take jokes seriously." Cyborg responded.

"Wait, you were kidding?" Robin's jaw opened a bit in surprise.

"Wait, you weren't kidding?"

"Cy, I know I'm not the only one who noticed it. Haven't you seen Raven being more comfortable around Beast Boy?" Robin had walked over and offered a hand to help Cyborg up.

He took it and stood up, looking as though he was processing something, probably screening his memory banks of footage to see what Robin was talking about.

"Yeah, I just went through the footage of today. She's definitely different." He said coming out of his trance.

"Wonder what's gotten into Raven, usually she does everything possible to avoid him. Looking at it from where we are you'd say basically she hates him."

"She doesn't hate the little green bean."

"Yeah, you're right. He ends up on everyone's nerves at one point. It's probably more difficult for her though." Robin said.

"What are we doing standing in the dark in the hallway friends, is this a new game?"

Robin and Cyborg turned to Starfire, "Talking about Beast Boy and Raven."

"Oh friends! I do believe that they are doing the crushing." Starfire said as she floated happily with a huge smile on her face.

"I think you mean they have a crush on each other, Star." Robin tried to gently correct.

Starfire smiled, "Yes, thank you Robin. I do believe they have a crush on each other."

"Which reminds me Cyborg, where is Jinx?" Robin prodded.

"Yes! Where is Jinx, Cyborg? Do you not have a crush on her as Beast Boy and Raven do on each other?" Starfire looked beside herself, all of her friends were pairing off and love was definitely in the air.

Cyborg went pink, almost the same color as Jinx's hair.

"Well… Robin, she had a lot of information for you. Including a call she happened to get while we were talking."

"She got new orders." Robin crossed his arms and his serious face was back out.

"How do you know things before I can even explain them." Cyborg said dejectedly.

"Call it a detective's hunch." He answered, turning around. "So what did she have to say?"

"She told me it was the Brotherhood of Evil who had hired her. She has no contact with Slade."

"Yes, I could deduce as much. Slade isn't that stupid to hire someone to do something he could easily accomplish himself without attracting our attention." Robin was deep in thought. Starfire and Cyborg knew when he got this way, he needed a distraction. Sadly, Cyborg knew he was about to push another button and turn Robin back the way he was when he first went after Slade.

"She said that The Brain has been hired by Slade."

Robin turned around instantly. "She told you everything?"

"She didn't have to, I listened to her conversation." Cyborg shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't intimidated by Robin, but was afraid for Robin's sanity, especially when dealing with Slade. "I think she's done a lot for us. I showed her to the fifth floor."

Robin knew what this meant. The fifth floor had been dictated by Robin and Cyborg during construction to be the "sleeping quarter's floor".

"Cyborg." Robin said while looking at the ground.

"You want me to show her out, or call the cops to come pick her up?" Cyborg said almost dejectedly.

"No. Bring her a communicator."

Cyborg looked up, almost in shock. Robin was serious, he had a small grin.

"We have work to do. Make sure she knows she reports to me now."

**_»§«_**

Beast Boy walked slowly down the hall, wracking his mind about what his friends had just said. There was no way he'd end up with Raven. It was inconceivable, no way would he get in her good graces long enough to even get farther in their current messed up relationship, whatever that was.

Before he knew it he had walked past his door and realized where he was now standing, right in front of Raven's room.

'Maybe spending time with her wouldn't hurt. I've never seen her so friendly with me.'

"Umm, Raven?"

He heard something inside her room fall, a resounding thud as something was knocked over as she obviously scrambled to the door. The door opened, but only a crack. Staring back at Beast Boy was one of Raven's beautiful amethyst eyes.

'Why are his eyes so beautiful? They're so perfect it's almost sickening.' Raven wondered from the door crack.

"What do you want, Beast Boy." She said in her usual monotone.

"I-I was w-w… wondering if I could… maybe, perhaps… spend-some-time-with-you?" he finished quickly.

Beast Boy turned a shade of pink that had yet to be discovered. Raven followed suit when she realized he was serious.

"I'm not doing anything fun. I don't want any interruptions and you get bored easily." Raven said as she began to close the door. Before the door could close all the way, Raven noticed a gloved hand slip in and she closed the door on it, not on purpose, ok, maybe on purpose.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Beast Boy desperately tried to pull his fingers out, instantly regretting his decision to stop Raven.

Raven sighed, opening the door again to let his fingers go free. Beast Boy blew on his fingers and swore quietly, holding one hand in his other.

"P-please Rae… Can I spend some time with you… I don't care what it is." He said, still cradling his comically strewn fingers.

"I'm meditating." She closed the door. He heard her go back to her bed, then the quiet repetition of 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos" permeated the door and walls.

Beast Boy felt rejected, but wasn't about to give up. He'd been pushed away too many times. He sat down on the ground outside, adopted the lotus position that Raven always used and joined her, through the wall.

He rested his arms on his knees and closed his eyes. He didn't know what to do from that point, so he just copied Raven.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Beast Boy chanted.

He felt calm, like nothing could go wrong. The aching in his fingers had subsided and he was almost perfectly at peace. He finally took notice of his surroundings after a non-descriptive amount of time as he slowly opened his eyes. His senses began to return to him. He had been meditating and Raven was now standing in her doorway, a look of amazement on her face.

"What's up Rae?" He said calmly.

"You're floating."

"What?"

"Look down."

He was indeed levitating, a good four feet off the ground. He suddenly realized that he wasn't concentrating anymore and was beginning to fall. He dropped half a foot and was caught on a black disc, which floated lazily over to Raven as she walked back into her room. Beast Boy was speechless. Not only had she caught him (saving him from more pain), but now she was bringing him back inside her room.

'Who knew Beast Boy could meditate.' She chuckled to herself.

"… Rae?"

"I'm going to meditate with you; perhaps I was wrong that you didn't have the patience for it." She responded dryly. Already knowing the changeling was going to ask her why she had brought him in.

Raven let the disc place Beast Boy safely on the ground and she herself began to float. She crossed her legs lotus style and began to chant her mantra. She had heard him use her mantra and was flattered that he picked it, and decided not to talk to him about it, at least not yet. Soon Beast Boy was mimicking her and sitting lotus style, eyes closed and quietly chanting her mantra. He fell into unison with Raven, chanting together at the same time.

Raven continued to chant, but couldn't concentrate hard enough. She opened one eye to take a peek at her green friend.

Beast Boy was always a good looking guy. Raven might never have noticed it, but she was definitely taking it in now. As he sat lotus style, chanting, he began to rise again. His muscles, which had been bulging against his slim fit Doom Patrol outfit, were now relaxing.

'Well, I know his eyes are breath-taking. I've never really noticed how adorable his hair was, all spikey and messed up. His little canine tooth that pokes through is so cute too. Wait. Did I just say, Breath-taking, adorable and cute?' Raven had indeed been thinking affectionately about Beast Boy, though she didn't know it. Raven felt as though she was burning up, and her stomach felt light and fluttery.

'What's going on now.' She had receded deep into her own thoughts. 'I need to talk to my emotions. This is getting out of hand.'

It was then, after her self-made remark that she noticed he was now on the floor, staring directly at her.

"What's wrong Rae? You look like a deer in some headlights."

"Nothing." She responded, desperately pulling her hood up trying to cover her face, which was now the same color as a bonfire.

"That's a whole lotta nothing!" He said, unfurling his legs and standing up. He had noticed her blushing.

"Can we continue this conversation later?" Raven said curtly.

"Uhh, sure… I'll just be going."

Being an empath Raven could sense his feelings washing over her like a wave lapping on the shore. He was sad, and frustrated. She knew he was sad about her stopping their conversation, which in turn made her feel the same emotion.

"No, it's ok. Stay with… me." Raven said, pulling her hood tighter around her face while turning away.

He turned and smiled, plopping down on the floor and closing his eyes.

**_»§«_**

**Earlier that Day**

"I have business to discuss with you." Slade replied dryly.

"Yes, it would appear so." concurred The Brain.

"I need your assistance with a plan I have to take over the Titan's Tower."

"And why should I help you?" The Brain asked quizzically.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Slade was not one to forgo military tactics to get what he wants. It's true, while he despised The Brain and the Brotherhood of Evil; he was running out of plans. He would need to start looking for his accomplice, The Ravager as well.

"As the proverb is true, I see your point. But why take the tower? My followers in the Brotherhood of Evil are busy with the Doom Patrol and we cannot spare much."

"I heard from a source that you hired three members of H.I.V.E. to rob a bank, is this true?" Slade prodded.

"Yes, indeed. We hired three stooges from H.I.V.E. to steal some information that was stored in a well-guarded vault."

"I'd ask what was in the Vault," Slade said idly, "but I already know."

"Your sources are most thorough."

The Brain knew that Slade was easily the most well informed villain in the city. He knew better than to lie to Slade. Fighting a war on two fronts is not something he wanted to do. He wasn't going to fall for the same thing as the Germans during WWII. His senior officer General Immortus hid his background well, but many among them could tell he served with the Nazis during the war.

"My plan includes those three stooges you hired."

"I see no reason why I can't hire them again if this temporary alliance goes through."

"I do see a problem," Slade said matter-of-factly. "My sources say, after they failed to retrieve the information you desperately desired, they were stopped by the Titans."

"We can easily retrieve them." The Brain interjected quickly.

"Mammoth and Gizmo, yes I believe you easily could, but not Jinx. My sources witnessed her "captured" by the Titans."

"Captured?" The Brain said, a bit of panic evident in his robotic voice.

"Yes, she voluntarily got into a car with Cyborg." Slade knew he had The Brain cornered now. He had prepared beforehand, talking to about fifteen of his sources to get the most accurate information. This information hadn't let him down, he had pressure on The Brain, and it would be easier to get what he wanted if he could keep up constant pressure. The Brain would be shifting uncomfortably in his seat if he was more than a brain in a jar, Slade was sure of this.

The Brain was not stupid though, not by a long shot. "She was part of my plan to go undercover." He quickly covered up.

"Hmm. I see. Well we can make use of her."

**_»§«_**

_**Later that evening**_

"Raven, Star and I are going out. Cyborg called ahead and said that he and Jinx would be gone for the weekend. If you see Beast Boy, let him know. We'll be back late. We have our communicators, so does Jinx." Robin said loudly, walking down the hallway.

"Right, Enjoy." came the monotone reply through the door.

'It's about time they go out.' Being an empath (as Raven constantly reminded people) was not easy. During her meditation she could feel the emotions from the room next to hers, which happened to be Starfire's room. During the afternoon and even when they were standing in front of her door, she could sense the lust and happiness that radiated from their very beings. She had spent her time trying to identify one last emotion she felt. She had felt it from Beast Boy once before, and from Cyborg and Jinx at one point. The best way to describe it she had concluded was bliss.

Raven was still sitting cross legged on her bed, but she had been reading. She couldn't continue to meditate with the new couple's emotions from the other room. Beast Boy had fallen asleep very quickly after Raven asked him to stay. He was quietly snoozing in the form of a Golden Retriever, curled up with his nose tucked behind his tail. Raven noted how cute he could be when he was asleep.

She quickly scolded herself for thinking of Beast Boy that way. Raven knew it was time.

'I haven't done this in a while. It's definitely going to drain almost all of my power.'

Raven's eyes glowed black, as did the immense shroud around her. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She shouted.

At this point, everything stopped. The whole universe froze in time, except for Raven. She breathed heavily, trying to regain a little bit of power. She caught her breath and walked over to her chest. Muttering a simple unlocking spell, it creaked open. She rummaged through the chest, pulling out spell tomes and cloaks, the Elder Wand, some rare gems, what looked like a rock, necklaces and many trinkets until she found it. She pulled the magic mirror from the chest and rubbed it off with the corner of her cloak.

'I never enjoy this.' She sighed.

**_»§«_**

"Slade…"

Slade's eye opened, he was on a floating rock in a red nebula. His mask was missing, though the rest of his outfit remained the same. His platinum blonde hair and goatee were a bright contrast to his orange and black uniform. An eye patch covered his right eye, which had been taken by his first wife. One remaining bright blue eye stared into the red abyss.

"I grow tired of these dreams." Slade said dryly.

"These are not dreams; I have lacked power to talk to you before."

Slade knew now exactly what was attempting to contact him, and he knew that this was going to end badly. Slade may have been incredibly intelligent, but he was greedy, interested in what was about to occur.

"What can I do for you… Trigon." He finished, his tone not changing from his first statement.

"You know what I want. The question is what do you want."

"I wish to end the Titans. They meddle in matters that they do not understand." Slade responded.

"You do not want wealth or power, Slade Wilson, or shall I call you Deathstroke?"

Slade cringed that Trigon knew exactly who he was. He had been able to keep it away from everyone on the planet, but apparently he had not escaped the watchful eyes of the Arch-Demon.

"I have no need for them. I am already wealthy and power comes to those who wait."

**_»§«_**

Raven looked deeply into the mirror, and muttered her mantra. A giant claw eerily crept out from the mirror and wrapped around her body, pulling her into her own mind.

She did not panic as she fell; she was used to the rough trip into Nevermore. Right before she was about to hit the ground, she took a leaf out of Batman's book. She used her cloak to slow her fall, spreading out the cloak and landing safely on the ground.

Nevermore looked just as it always had to Raven, Sharp rocks were jutting out from the ground, which was covered in a discolored mat of grass. The red nebula sky was as before and in the distance more rock-like platforms could be seen.

"Nice move, Rae." A familiar voice said from behind Raven.

"Robin taught me after he learned it from Batman, but you already knew that." She countered.

"Being you has its perks." The green cloaked emotion responded.

"Where are the others, Brave?"

Brave was one of Raven's "Emoticlones." When she broke her emotions, she split them up into colors that were closely related to the teachings of Azarath.

"Happy is around here somewhere," Happy was the bright pink emoticlone that always had a smile on her face, "Timid ran off when she saw you getting ready to get in the mirror," Timid is the grey cloaked Raven clone that was always shy and afraid, "and where else do you think the bookworm would be?" The Bookworm was Brave's nickname for Knowledge, the yellow cloaked Raven. Brave chuckled. "Oh, and there are a few new emotions that were able to form."

"Oh?" Raven said, legitimately surprised. "Who?"

"Not for me to say, I might be you, but I still like to see you squirm not knowin'. Though I can say, her cloak is a deep purple. Kinda like our eyes."

Raven scowled. Not only were her emotions hard to deal with, they liked to keep her in the dark. Nevermore held its secrets, even from her. Ignoring what Brave had said, she changed the subject back.

"So, Knowledge is at the library?" Raven shifted as though to use her body to point towards the library.

"Yep."

"I'm going to see her, go gather the rest."

Brave saluted, and disappeared, a huge grin on her face being the last to vanish in the air. Raven sighed, sometimes her emotions drained more out of her patience then Beast Boy ever could.

Forming her dark disc on the ground, Raven stepped on and began to head towards the library. The flight was easy, nothing would stop her from getting there; it was just a matter of time. She was beginning to think about what she was about to do and what this meeting of Emotions might cause as an end result. Raven heard a small giggle from behind her. An emotion she hadn't seen before was currently sharing the dark transportation with her.

"You're going to see knowledge?" the new emotion said curiously, arms behind her in a cute pose.

"You already knew that." Raven replied coldly. She had no idea what emotion this was, though she could easily try to figure it out through process of elimination, though she still had no idea.

"Raven, I can see what you're thinking, I'm you remember?"

'And, busted' Raven conceded.

"Maybe you can tell me who you are then, instead of making me guess." Raven didn't like being left out of the loop. As Knowledge would easily say, she liked knowing everything there is to know.

"I wish I could Raven. Knowledge will tell you the same, but you need to find who I am on your own."

The violet cloaked Raven turned and disappeared. 'Great, more riddles. Not like I'm having problems with my emotions in the first place.' Raven chided.

Landing gracefully at the front of the library, Raven walked up to the front doors, opening them with a wave of her hand. The library stuck out like a sore thumb in Raven's mind. It was a huge building, covered in gold, with painted accents in ruby red and black. Right in the front was a giant Chakra gem placed atop a fountain. The insides were far different from the outside. Knowledge liked the light, so the inside was lit by an exquisite crystal chandelier and many gold plated candles floating mysteriously around the giant room.

Volumes upon volumes of books littered the tables. Knowledge had been keeping busy. Raven picked up one such volume and looked at it. '"Quærite Xin'thon, _Flames of Xin'thon_" huh? I don't remember reading this.' She put the book back down and walked towards the middle of the expansive library. A lone figure in a yellow cloak was sitting at a table, a book propped open.

"Libro Mortuorum, Book of the Dead … Not something you should be reading Knowledge." Raven had no idea why her clone was reading such an evil book.

"Legam coram quod volo." _I read what I want_. Knowledge retorted, not even looking up.

'Oh boy, this is going to be fun.' She said in her mind in her signature monotone. You could almost see the look of stress pasted in the small grin.

**_»§«_**

A/N: College is becoming a pain, I'm trying to write as much as possible. Also I'm a huge fan of BBRae fluff, so you'll be seeing a fair share of it in the next couple chapters. Till next time. :)

Next time in "The Demon Within": Does Raven have the ability to recognize her own feelings? Will Slade succeed in his plan to take over the Titan's Tower? What's up with Trigon and this deal? All that and more, next time.


	3. Chapter 3: All Inside Your Head

**Disclaimer: I STILL do not own the Teen Titans...**

**Chapter 3: All inside your head**

'Oh boy, this is going to be fun.' Raven droned to herself. You could almost see the look of stress pasted in the small grin she was displaying.

"You do know I can hear you. We all can." Knowledge said, finally looking up from her book, one eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah, sadly nothing is private for me." Raven replied with a roll of her eyes.

"The others will be here in a minute. But I have a question for you while we wait."

Knowledge put down the book, and with a wave of her hand, all the books that had been on the tables, flew back to their slots on the shelves. After the books settled, she waved her hand again. The chair across from her glowed black, and slowly scooted back to make a space for Raven.

"You know the answers already. Don't you?" Raven asked, sitting down.

"I only know what you know. I'm merely seeking your opinion." Knowledge seemed to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Sadly, it didn't work vice-versa and Raven had no idea what was going on in Knowledge's mind. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine." Raven replied, crossing her arms.

"That much I know for a fact is incorrect." Knowledge held her gaze.

"And you're not going to let it go until I answer you, are you?"

"No. Nor will I lower the wall, which is preventing the others from getting in." Knowledge had a sly smirk.

"It stays between us." Raven said, not blinking.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. The others are blocked out. You'll have noticed by now that you can't feel any emotions, nor can I. As I've suppressed them for us."

Raven had indeed, noticed how she was feeling. She felt nothing: no happiness, no anger, no contentment, nothing. She was still looking directly at Knowledge. She couldn't feel embarrassed, so why not answer? "I don't know how you did it, but bravo. All I can do is think. I can't even be embarrassed."

Knowledge didn't smirk, she couldn't. "Are you going to answer my question? I'm not going to be able to hold this forever." She was referring to the wall holding back the other emotions.

Raven stared at Knowledge. "I'm not alright. Though I can't feel it now, intellectually I can't understand the emotion I felt when I was around Beast Boy all day, or why I'm considering him attractive." Raven's eyes went wide, she had the feeling sweeping over her again. Her heart raced, and she felt as though she had a fire going up the inside of her stomach.

"You removed t-the wall." Raven stuttered, trying to keep calm.

"Yes, the second you mentioned Beast Boy. It lets you feel the emotion as your mind tried to deduce why you felt the way you did." Knowledge got up and moved herself and her chair over next to Raven. "Tell me what you feel."

"I-I… feel like I'm mi-missing something." Raven tried to get out. She was part afraid of the feeling, being as she had rarely felt it before.

"Something?" Knowledge was actually trying to help, though Raven wasn't even aware.

Some shuffling could be heard from nearby, though Raven was too preoccupied to hear it. The rest of the emotions hadn't actually been blocked out. They had been listening behind the closest shelf.

"Affection!" Happy whispered.

"Yes, happy?" Affection smiled.

"She likes Beast Boy, doesn't she? It's almost obvious. Considering she's used us more and more." Happy was referring to herself and Affection.

"I believe so, Happy."

"It's about time." Rude said, well, rudely.

"I hate Beast Boy." Rage said.

"Yes, yes, we know what you dislike," Brave spat at Rage.

"Perhaps you guys should wait here while I attempt to help Knowledge." The brown clad Raven said. She walked out from behind the shelves and headed to where Raven and Knowledge were sitting.

"Process of elimination won't work Raven. You haven't felt it much before, so you don't know what it is, therefore, you can't name it." Wisdom said, startling Knowledge and Raven.

"Ah, Wisdom, glad you could join us." Knowledge said blankly.

While Knowledge appeared to have a deadpan expression, she locked eyes with Wisdom trying to convey the plan silently to her.

'I'm aware, dear Knowledge.' Wisdom said in her head. It was Knowledge who used her as well to get this plan going, so she played along.

"I happened to be locked inside the library and have been looking for you Knowledge, Any reason behind locking out our sisters?"

"Raven needs time to decipher her emotions."

"Locking her from her emotions is not a clever way to force the emotion on her." Wisdom chided.

"I know, Sister. But it must be done. Raven hasn't felt this for a long time and letting her experience the emotion freely will give her a better understanding of past events." Knowledge had stood up and was now crossing her arms, walking forward towards Wisdom.

"You both know I'm right here, right?" Raven said, clearly agitated.

At this point, the other emotions walked out from behind the shelf. Raven knew they had been there. After Knowledge removed the block on her emotions, she could sense the others nearby. Happy, Timid, Rage, Rude, Brave and the purple cloaked emotion who Raven didn't know was named Affection, all came forward.

"Hello, Raven." Affection said.

Raven merely nodded as a curt reply, still not knowing who the purple clad copy was. "I've called you guys together to help me figure out what is going on with… me. I can't understand my feelings half the time."

"We know why you called us, but we still can't help you. Only she can." Brave pointed toward the Purple clad Affection.

"You again..." Raven said with a sigh. "Look, I'm not good at this whole feeling thing, can you just tell me who you are?" Raven was now standing, arms crossed, waiting for a reply.

"Nope." Affection said with a smile. "But if you'd like we can go to my realm and talk for awhile, I might be able to help you figure out yourself."

"Not like I have much of a choice." Raven replied turning away.

"Very well, follow me." Affection turned and walked toward the back of the library, with Raven in tow. All of the other emotions were now talking amongst themselves and paid no attention to Raven and Affection leaving.

They walked into the back room, which was very dark, and up to a wall that was in the shape of a crescent, lined with doors. There were eight doors in total, though Raven assumed more would appear, if her emotions split. The walls around the door were each masterfully painted to represent their emotion, and illuminated in the same, a candle lit with the color of the emotion's cloak. Rage's spikes and red wall stood out, along with Happy's clouds and rainbow painted wall, which was bathed in a pink light. The door Affection walked up to had a scene painted that represented rolling green hills with the sun shining down, a familiar purple glow was instantly noticable as it matched Affection's cloak. Raven was in awe of the paintings.

Affection noticed Raven studying the wall. 'She doesn't notice the couple sitting next to the tree.' She smiled inwardly, this was going to be a lot of work. She then walked through the door, with Raven right on her tail.

Raven shut her eyes tight as she walked into Affection's domain. She had gone from the dimly lit room in the back of the library to the very open and bright rolling hills that had been portrayed in the painting.

"Ugh... I really don't like extremely bright light. You should know that." Raven was shielding herself behind her cloak and was attempting to slowly crack her eyes open. "Look, whoever you are, can I at least know what to call you? What emotion you represent?"

"Guess." A grin was plastered on Affection's face that Raven couldn't see.

"I... think I know who you are."

"Yes, you do. You've only experienced me once before." She was now facing Raven.

"Love?" Raven asked, almost afraid of getting an answer. The encounter she had with Malchior ran its toll on her. She knew that she had experienced all her emotions at least once before. Even she had experienced Rage more than once. Granted she tried her best to avoid and suppress Rage.

"In essence, yes. You may call me Affection, I am the embodiment of all the feelings that you have towards people you care about."

"W-why the hell are you here? Affection requires me to love, and we both know I can't do that." Raven was beginning to look visibily upset. She knew. She knew all along that she had harbored feelings for specific teammates.

"Can't, or won't?" Affection added.

"Both." Raven quipped.

"What about Beast Boy, Raven?" Affection said with a huge grin that was now in plain sight.

"What do you mean by that?" Raven said, trying to get Affection to answer the question for her.

"I'm you, Raven. You can't hide from, or force me to answer questions that you're too afraid to answer yourself." Affection turned around again, and began walking.

"I'm not afraid." Raven said in her signature monotone. She followed Affection, not wanting to end the coversation just yet. She caught up wth her and fell into step next to her.

"Raven, you may not know this, but what you feel is genuine. So whatever I tell you has little meaning, as you've already felt these feelings and have just yet to decipher in your mind what will be your next step."

Raven knew the time for games was over. She now knew what she had been feeling, but there was no way she was going to end up "in love". It was just a crush at most, or hormones. 'Yeah, that's it. Just hormones.'

"It's all just spur of the moment, must be hormones." Raven tried to reason.

Affection scoffed, "Pfft, yeah, and I'm here just because of your hormones."

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking." Raven replied, clearly aggitated. How could she be told what she was supposed to do or feel by her own emotions? They were just her for Azar's sake.

As if on cue, Affection said "I might just be a copy of you, and I can't influence you one way or another, and you know that. I'm merely here answering your questions as it was you who came into the mirror seeking answers."

Something clicked for Raven, "No wonder Knowledge, and Brave said I'd have to figure it out on my own. You all already knew that you couldn't help me. What a waste of time."

"Waste, was it?"

They had been walking, all the while talking and were now at the top of the hill. The sun shone brightly on the rolling plains before them. It was then that Raven noticed a tree. This tree had a similar resemblence to the tree in her dream.

"Is that the tree..."

"Yes, Raven, it's the one."

Raven didn't wait for Affection to continue her thought, she lifed off and sped off in flight toward the tree. As she came closer she noticed it was beautiful. It shone with a full pallet of colors.

"It's the Tree of Emotions."

"Why have I never seen it before?" Raven asked quizzically.

"You've never felt all of your emotions long enough for the tree to flourish. While it was always present as a seedling, it wasn't until the recent defeat of your father that the tree was able to grow." She was obviously invoking a bit of Knowledge and Wisdom.

"And now..."

"It's here." Affection finished.

The Tree of Emotions was huge and twisted. It was the color of rich soil, and it's roots twisted through the ground popping up in places. It had many branches with leaves on it that were all colors, ranging from White to Black. Certain branches had less leaves and some had more than others. Three branches stood out in particular, one with brown leaves, one with yellow leaves, and one with green leaves.

"You can see that it has more leaves, or life as you could say, the more you feel the emotion." Affection pointed out a branch with a few scattered indigo leaves. The branch would have looked all but dead if it was not for the buds that were all along the bark.

Raven was speachless, she had been worried all this time about Beast boy, and she hadn't even tried talking to her copies about the dream she had. Incidentally Affection was cheating and reading her thoughts, not that Raven could hide them anyway.

"He's fine now." Affection said, putting a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"He might not be. What do you think the dream meant?"

"Do you remember the state of the tree?" Affection questioned.

"Black leaves."

"Precisely. It was dead, or almost dead. I have a feeling, and don't quote me on this, you'll need to talk to Wisdom if you want more, that it shows what will happen, if you ignore what you feel, as opposed to facing your fears." Affection was now staring into Raven's eyes, no longer reading her mind. "I believe at one point a President may have stated "You have nothing to fear, but fear itself.""

"Franklin D. Roosevelt said that, and he's right. Fear isn't what defines us, it's how we act upon fear that decides who we are." Raven had her eyes closed, deep in thought.

"So what are you afraid of, Raven?"

Raven honestly had to think about this. Affection knew to give her time, and merely sat down in front of the tree, adopting the lotus position. She began to meditate, and Raven soon sat down with her, placing her back against the tree.

'I'm not afraid of dying, or hell, or any enemy. I've face numerous enemies who could easily kill me.' Raven had been racking her mind trying to figure out what she was afraid of. 'This should be easy for me. I have full control of my emotions now. Why can't I figure out what frightens me the most?'

"Perhaps I can offer some insight, Raven?" Affection had stopped meditating and was now giving Raven her full attention.

"I'd prefer to do this alone."

"You are alone, you'd merely be having a chat with yourself." Affection reminded gently, giggling.

"Very well." Raven sighed, "What can you tell me about what I'm afraid of?"

"Maybe it's not a 'what', but a 'who'?"

"I'm not afraid of anyone, I already went over that in my head. I've beaten all the wierd villains in Jump City, fought giants and even fought my father."

Affection was trying to help Raven see, but it was becoming difficult to do it indirectly.

"Maybe it is not someone you've had to fight?"

"Like who?"

"You know, Raven. I'm you and your essence of Love, and I'm still getting aggitated having to deal with your obliviousness." Affection said with a smirk and a sigh.

"Out with it, or I can just leave." Raven spat.

"Very well, but you must be open to everything."

"Can't promise anything."

"Then I'll pass on telling you. The gate to leave is outside my door on the left. I assume you can find your way?" Affection had dropped through the ground in a vortex upon uttering her last word.

'Wonderful, I've managed to anger my emotion of love. That's not something you see every day.'

**_»§«_**

A lone figure walked down the magnificently decorated hallway. He turned left and headed into the designated bathroom. Far from ordinary, the bathroom was basically a pool, and very eloquently decorated. The room was covered in white and black swirled marble and jade wall tiles. Golden arm chairs and lounge chairs sat strategically around the room in pairs.

Slade walked in and stripped down, lowering himself slowly into the steaming water. He had a long day, and now that he had begun a plan with The Brotherhood of Evil, he was worried about the now huge amount of people he had to have watched. The waters were calming to him, removing the aches from past days workout. Slade was relaxed for once. He was always tense. Being paranoid caused problems when trying to calm down. The past week had taken its toll on him.

He floated on the top of the water, with his eye closed, swimming around on his back, drifting lazily. His head began to spin and within seconds he was unconscious.

Slade noticed a change in scenery. He was no longer in his pool/bath. The area Slade was now in was dark, lonely, and as far as he could tell, devoid of life, aside from himself. The abyss was endless, though when Slade was about to speak to try and add some life to the uncomfortable situation, a voice rang out.

"Welcome back, Slade." Trigon muttered.

"Why do you always summon me when I'm trying to relax?" Slade complained.

"You're always on call now, my friend."

"I'm not your friend, Demon," Slade said angrily. Slade was unable to move, though he was silently struggling against the demonic bonds. Trigon had bound Slade's Soulself to his demonic, fiery realm.

"Struggling will get you nowhere."

"Can't blame me for trying. Can you?"

"I expected you to try. My bonds are unbreakable to those who do not have my powers."

"I see, so Raven would be able to break these." Slade smiled smugly from behind his mask.

"And now you know why she must offer herself and how I cannot force her."

Slade had been talking into the abyss as Trigon had not shown himself. "Why not show yourself to me? How can I trust you, if you will not grace me with an actual in person meeting?" Slade was taking shots in the dark, attempting to get Trigon to show himself. 'Maybe if he shows himself, I can find a weakness to exploit when he turns on our deal.'

"Very well."

Slade had seen Trigon before, he was a tall, blood red colored demon, with four supernatural piercing yellow eyes. What Slade saw, was not what he remembered. Trigon now appeared in front of him, slowly rising from the abyss as a sea monster would from the ocean. Black smoke fell off of Trigon as he emerged. The long black flowing hair Trigon now sported was a complete opposite of his old silver-gray mane. His eyes were no longer yellow, but a deep blood red, as though he was angry. His skin which before was a light red, was now a dark blood color which almost looked black. He wore what could only be called a "Hellish" armor. The demonic armor defied the non-existent sun and gleamed as the smoke fell. It matched Trigon's new hair and blackish skin, and had spikes covering the shoulder plates. Slade was overwhelmed, he expected that Trigon would make a full recovery after his defeat at the hands of his daughter, especially in his own realm. However, this was not a recovery, this was a rebirth.

"I see you appreciate my new form, Slade." Trigon said with a grin.

"How can I not? Even if I didn't, I would still say so. You have my soul and I would be an idiot to anger you." Slade reasoned.

"So you are starting to see things my way. "

"Do I have a choice?" Slade growled angrily.

" Ahhh... It is good to feel the anger well up in you again."

The last thing Slade wanted to do was give Trigon more power through his own anger. He made an attempt to soothe himself, reminding himself of his training. He removed the thoughts of anger from his mind and returned to his normal neutral demeanor.

"Good. It will be important for you to maintain control. I have a task for you." Trigon coldly said.

"What is it?"

"You will use your alliance with this so-called Brotherhood of Evil and you will retrieve the parts necessary to build a space-time Rift Generator." Trigon raised his hand and aimed it toward Slade, who felt an immense burning sensation. "I have implanted the information needed to build the generator." The burning Slade had felt only lasted a minute and had subsided when Trigon finished speaking.

"Yes, that much I can tell." Slade responded sarcastically."I'll build your generator, though I expect your end of the deal to be upheld. What guarantee can you give me ahead of completion?"

"Your soul will remain intact and you will leave here with some new… 'gifts'."

"Gifts?" Slade questioned.

"Yes, you will retain the powers that I grant to my demonic followers. You will be able to wield fire."

"I see, so these powers will not be like Raven's."

"No, you will not have powers like those of my daughter." Trigon continued, "Your powers will pale in comparison to hers."

"I believe I will be alright, as they had problems fighting and winning against me in the past, without your 'gifts'."

"Yes, I have been watching your progress over the years. It is one of the reasons why I chose you for this." Trigon admitted, "We will speak again soon, for now I must return you to your realm as I have business to attend to, and so do you."

Trigon lifted his rune covered hand towards Slade and his now red eyes glowed. Slade could see from behind his mask the flames surrounding him. He began to scream in pain as he was ignited. Then all went black.

Slade awoke underwater, accidently inhaling. He started to swim to the top. His muscles screamed in pain. When he broke the surface of the water, he began to cough and expel the water from his lungs. He then swam over to the edge and quickly lifted himself out. He held up his hands, taking a good look. He clenched his fists and fire began to form around them.

"I see…" Slade murmered.

**_»§«_**

"How the hell did I manage to anger my affectionate side? Shouldn't that be damn near impossible?" Raven said angrily out loud.

She scowled, forming a giant Raven around herself, and took off towards the door back to the library.

Affection didn't actually go far, though she did have to work to stay hidden. She had merely ported to the other side of the tree and suppressed her powers so Raven wouldn't sense her. 'She'll come to terms… I hope.' She added. Affection had done her best to show Raven that she had feelings for her green teammate, though she knew that Raven was falling for the changeling, it was apparent that Raven either didn't want to, or couldn't believe it yet. 'Maybe her feelings weren't powerful enough,' Affection thought sadly.

Affection had almost been one hundred percent certain, that taking Raven into her realm would let her freely feel the emotion she fought desperately to suppress daily. Affection had heard Raven say that she felt as though she was 'missing something' when Knowledge had forced her to answer her question. Affection, being the emotion of love, knew that this was a typical feeling, that the person who you feel for completes you. She was missing Beast Boy, and Affection was hopeful that it would just be a matter of time until Raven realized it. She just hoped it wasn't too late and Beast Boy would stick around.

**_»§«_**

"Brain, we have a small change in plan."

"Oh? New terms I have to abide by?"

"No, merely a change in how we go about destroying the Titans." Slade said dryly.

"Care to enlighten me?" Brain questioned.

"I'm going to need you to get some tech."

"Oh? What sort of tech?"

"I'd be better of talking to Professor Chang, since I know he works for you."

"Very well. I'll contact him and he'll find you." Brain said angrily, obviously tired of taking orders from Slade.

"He, nor you will ever be able to find me unless I want to be found," Slade began, "I will find him.''

Slade cut the connection, and lifted himself from his posh chair. It was going to take the better part of the week to find Professor Chang. No one was invisible from Slade, but some were better than others at hiding. He would have to contact his sources who did all the digging on The Brain, to shift over to looking for the good Doctor.

It was late in the day and Slade had only moments before talking to The Brain, received his 'Gifts' from Trigon. 'Might be worth testing out. I need to train today anyway.' Slade was meticulous with his training. He would train for hours in the morning every day, fighting against robots he constructed or merely meditating to find his center. He walked from his library where he had been talking to The Brain, down the hallway. As said before, Slade spared no expense on his hideout. The hallway was decorated with fine wood floors and an exquisite jade rug that matched the bathroom wall tiles. He walked to the end of the hallway and went down the spiral staircase to his ground level. He walked through his designer kitchen to a painting on the far wall. It was an original, though the museum where he stole it from would say theirs was the real one.

The painting was significant to Slade. It was a painting called "The Persistence of Time" by Salvador Dali. To Slade it showed a notion of the collapse of a cosmic order. Slade held the side of the painting and gently pulled it towards himself. The painting made no noise but swung on a hinge revealing a panel behind it. Slade entered the code, a twenty-four digit series that charged every forty-eight hours, and pressed 'Enter'.

After imputing the code, he stepped back. The hardwood floor opened up by sliding to the side. Slade walked down the newly opened staircase to his training area. It was much larger than a football field, and was covered with different training activities. He had weights, weapons, hand-to-hand training against his robots, and a full fighting course just like the Teen Titans, though his was better equipped.

Slade walked to the hand-to-hand training area and activated one of his Mark VII bots. It sparked to life and moved towards him. Slade lifted his hand and focused on the robot. It was no challenge for him with new powers. The robot had been surrounded in flames and melted on the spot.

Three more robots appeared, almost taking Slade by surprise. His senses were seemingly increased as well. Flames spun around his body as he heated up. The air became superheated, and the ground were Slade was standing was slowly incinerated. The robots slowly followed suit and ignited, the tough metal easily being melted away.

Slade had a huge smile under his mask, the power granted to him was overwhelming. He then pulled out his Bo-staff. He hadn't expected much, but the staff, like Slade's hands, glowed with an eerie dark blood red.

'This is going to be interesting' Slade thought with an evil laugh.

**_»§«_**

After managing to anger Affection, Raven flew to the doorway back into the library. It wasn't hard to find as it was the lone standing object in Affection's realm, besides the Tree of Emotion. Raven landed softly in front of the door, opened it, and took a quick look behind herself. 'Maybe I should have tried harder, Affection was only trying to help.' She pushed the thought from her mind, remembering that Affection had said she harbored feelings for a certain green changeling.

Raven walked through the door back into the library, and, as expected, her emotions were waiting, though not how she expected. All of the emotions were sitting in a semi-circle around the door exit, obviously waiting.

"Well Raven," Knowledge began, "I've never seen Affection angry before."

"And how am I supposed to help how you guys affect each other." Raven said defensively.

"You could look at your own situation and act like a grown up."

Ravens mouth went slack, her emotions were now putting her on the spot inside her own mind."What would you want me to do?"

"Well first I'd like you to apologize to Affection, though that might be asking too much." Knowledge chided.

"If you won't do that, then you could start being honest with yourself," Wisdom added.

Raven sighed, and pulled up a chair, knowing she couldn't escape from them now.

"Hi Ravey!" Happy said.

Raven sat down while shooting a glare over to Happy. "Where is Affection?"

"She has indicated that she will only join us, if you agreed to open up, and not just to her, but to all of us."

"I have no way to hide my feelings." Raven said, " You all know how I feel," as she finished her sentence, she turned red, pulling up her hood.

"Yes, we are well aware of how you feel, but are you?" Affection said. While Raven had been pulling up her hood, Affection had returned from her designated door.

"Yes... I believe I do," Raven shifted uncomfortably, playing with the idea of running for the exit. "I'm s-sorry for what I said." Raven finished.

"Apology accepted, though we could have saved a lot of trouble if you had just opened up in the first placed," Affection warmly scolded in a motherly sort of way.

"I agreed to come clean on my feelings, I didn't agree to be verbally accused by my emotions." Raven snarled. Though she planned on telling them, they didnt have to rub it in her face.

"Very well, for that we apologize." Knowledge added, while hitting Rude on the shoulder to wake her up.

"About time you showed up, nice job dealing with purple over there." Rude sniggered.

"Look, do you want to hear what I have to say? I dont want to spend forever here."

"With the power of the time freeze spell you cast, I doubt you have to worry about time. You had so much raw energy flowing through you due to Affection and Happy that the spell should last for two to five days."

Raven wasn't surprised. She could feel the power when she had cast the spell.

"Beast Boy was so cute when you left him Ravey! I really wanted to pet him. He looked so fluffy!" Happy said as she literally jumped out of her seat.

Wisdom cleared her throat, "Go ahead, Raven."

Raven nodded and took a second to gather her thoughts. "As you all know, and can feel, I had a weird dream." Raven stood up and turned her back to the gathering of emotions, "I saw Beast Boy lacerated, and dying and all he could do was call to me."

Affection stood up and walked over to Raven, "You can't hurt yourself in here with your powers. Let it all go free and I promise you'll feel better."

Raven looked up, Affection was definitely a mother figure. While she held love and lust, she also held caring and passion. This was what she needed, Raven turned and with every instinct screaming not to, she grabbed a hold of Affection as a tear ran down her face.

"H-he was there and I saw in his eyes that all he wanted was for me to be there for him. I felt so helpless, watching him die. It made me think that I couldn't lose him, that I-I didn't wa-want to loose him!"

With the waterworks now flowing freely, Affection held Raven as she let out all the pent up frustration, sadness, fear and anxiety. She had removed Raven's hood was now stroking her hair.

"Don't worry Raven , everything will be alright." Affection cooed. This side of Raven had never been seen before by her emotions, though they knew she felt like this and just suppressed her feelings.

Raven continued crying, though now surprisingly she was now joined by Rude. "Like Affection said, everything will be alright. So quit crying like a baby."

When Raven had calmed down, the only emotions who remained were Affection and Knowledge. The library was Knowledge's realm. However, that wasn't the reason she remained. Affection was still cradling Raven who was now quietly thinking.

"What if he doesn't feel the same?" Raven finally said.

"It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." Knowledge mumbled, though loud enough to be heard, "You won't know unless you try." She reasoned.

"Yes, Raven, You won't know how he feels until you talk to him."

"I'll be back," Raven said while slowly getting up, breaking Affection's embrace.

"We're sure you will be." Affection waved goodbye, and Knowledge gave a curt nod.

Raven left the library and headed towards the exit gate. It was impossible to miss, it was at least two-hundred feet high and had a deep purple vortex right in the middle, which was slowly rotating counter-clockwise. Raven took a deep breath and glided silently through the softly humming gateway.

'What am I going to do?' Raven sighed as her world spun and her room came back into focus. Everything was still frozen in time. Beast Boy was asleep on the floor where Raven had let him nap. The room was dark. She had designed it to fit her personality. Her walls were a deep violet which matched her window shades. Her carpet, unlike her shown emotions, was pure white. Beast Boy was lying on the rug that Raven had bought from the local ancient artifact shop. It wasn't an ancient relic just a copy, which is why she let him sleep on it. It contrasted the floor; it had hieroglyphs on it and was a charcoal black.

"At least someone is enjoying his afternoon." Raven said to herself. She walked over to her bed and pulled out her purple comforter and silk sheets. Raven slid into bed and within five minutes she drifted off to sleep. The moment she lost consciousness, the time freeze spell wore off. Beast Boy's breath could now be heard as he slept peacefully in Raven's room.

**_»§«_**

Beast Boy woke up and stretched, feeling very rested. His senses returned, and was beginning to realise where he fell asleep. Panic and fear began to set in. He quietly changed forms to a fly and made his way to the door, slipping through the crack and heading back to his own room.

'Raven would have killed me, if she saw I fell asleep in her room.'

Little did Beast Boy know, she actually had let him. Neither of them was aware that they both wanted to be there together. He went back to his room and picked up a book he had been reading.

He would be skinned alive if Raven found out what he was reading. 'Tenebrae libro Carminibus' he read, he had learned it was Latin and roughly translated to 'Book of Dark Spells'. He flipped through the book and settled on a page halfway into the book.

Beast Boy was starting to read and was attempting to pronounce the spell on the current page. "Coniuncta mentium, coniuncta anima!" A green glow surrounded him and then dissipated a second later. "Guess I need more practice." He sighed.

"Beast Boy?" Came a voice from the door, accompanied by some knocking.

"Uhh... One second!" Beast Boy screamed, trying desperately to find a place to stash the book, while walking to his door. Beast Boy was not the quickest thinker, and shoved the book into his uniform. It was clearly visible as he answered the door, the book creating a square imprint on his chest.

"R-Raven!" Beast Boy's voice cracked.

Raven was standing, staring at him, arms crossed and one eyebrow cocked. "What's that under your shirt?"

"N-Nothing!"

Raven's eyes glowed white and Beast Boy's zipper lowered and the book flew out of his shirt and into her hands. "Where did you get this." Raven stated, as her eyes began to split and turn red.

"I... Uh" Beast Boy began, attempting to come up with some way to cover himself.

"You went into my room, and STOLE a book from my personal collection?"

"I-I... Rae..."

"MY NAME IS RAVEN!" she howled, "How DARE you steal from me. I knew you were an immature piece of shit but this blows everything out of the water!" The air around her was crackling with dark energy.

"Maybe if you didn't scare the crap out of me and you weren't so creepy, I would have asked you if you wanted to read it and I would have given it to you!" Beast Boy retaliated,

"Given? Given? You stole from me! You should have given it back right away if you had any idea of common sense."

" I didn-" Beast Boy began.

"I don't want to hear a bullshit excuse from you! In fact don't bother talking to me again until you can grow up!" And, with that, Raven stormed off.

**_»§«_**

A/N: Wow, going from being ready to open up, to being closed off yet again, what is with this girl? Chapter 4 will be out soon. Don't fret! Feel free to try and tell me what "Coniuncta mentium, coniuncta anima" means as well!

_Next time in "The Demon Within": Can Beast Boy get out of the mess he got into? Did he actually steal the book? And what about Slade and his new powers? And where are the rest of the Titans? Answers, and more, next time._


	4. Chapter 4: Regrets and Change

**_A/N:_** Hey guys. I want to thank you for the 700 views and the 10 reviews I've received on my story! As well as the support from Reddit and Deviantart! I also wanted to let you know that I'm going to hold a small Logo contest. As you can tell I'm horrible with paint or any form of graphic design, so the person who sends me the coolest Logo will win and it will be used and credited here as well as my other sites (Twitter/Deviantart/FB)! If you have any questions feel free to hit me up on Twitter or a private message!

I'll also be doing a mailbag. So please R&R! I love feedback and am always happy to talk to readers!

Without further adieu…

**_Disclaimer_****_: I do not own the Teen Titans._**

**_Chapter 4: Regrets and Change_**

"Wow. They haven't argued like that in a long time." Robin stated. He was sitting in the common room at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, B hasn't been able to anger her that much in years." Cyborg responded.

"Friends, I do not understand. What could friend Beast Boy have done, that would have angered friend Raven so much?" Starfire commented, her voice laced with sadness. She floated over from the kitchen to Robin.

"No idea, Star." Robin put an arm around her.

"He probably tried pulling a prank on her, or spilled something on her favorite cloak." Cyborg answered.

"Cy, Where's Jinx?"

"Still asleep, we didn't get in until late. Figured I'd let her sleep in."

"Right, When she gets up, send her to my study."

"Sir, yes Sir!" Cyborg jokingly saluted.

Robin shot a glare over at Cyborg while getting up. He put his dish in the sink and left the room heading for his study. Robin hadn't slept much during the night. He had Slade on his mind. Jinx had revealed that Slade was now working with the Brotherhood of Evil. While it wasn't uncommon for Supervillains to team up, it was very strange for Slade to team with anyone besides 'The Ravager'.

Robin walked down the hall lost in thought. He entered his code into an iron door. It clicked, accepting his code and lifted open like a mini garage door. His study was the opposite of his old mentor's. Unlike the Batcave, it was bright. There was a huge maple desk and posh leather armchair. The walls were lined with bookcases with two spots free for a workbench filled with current and experimental tech, the second spot held a fireplace that bathed the room in a warm glow. Memorabilia littered the bookcases, Red X's uniform, Robin's Slade mask from his undercover mission, and a few token items from Gotham villains. He also kept a 'Bat-a-rang' which Robin used to design an upgrade his Bird-a-rangs.

Robin walked over to his desk and sat down, quietly shifting through the files on his desk. He read through the three main files, which contained information on the top members of the Brotherhood of Evil. General Immortus, Monsieur Mallah, and Madame Rouge, the "generals" who ran almost all of the operations within the Brotherhood.

Robin's plan was to defeat the three generals then capture one. He had considered General Immortus, but being immortal, meant that torture, which Robin was against except in dire circumstances, would not work as a threat. Madame Rouge could change shape and was a master spy, and could also regenerate. Monsieur Mallah on the other hand was just, in Beast Boy's words, "a giant talking monkey with a laser gun."

Though Beast Boy's description may have been childish, he was right. Remove Mallah from his weapon and capturing him would be simple. A light on his desk lit up.

"Yes, who is it?" Robin said while depressing the button.

"Cy said you wanted to talk to me." Jinx said, "How do I enter your Fort Knox?"

"I'll let you in." Robin replied with a laugh. He pushed another button on his desk and the door slid open as it had for him. Jinx slowly walked into the room, admiring everything that Robin had on display. She had never been in his study, not even when H.I.V.E. took over the tower.

"Nice digs." Jinx said, finding a chair and plopping down in front of Boy Wonder.

Robin ignored her comment. He was still uneasy with Jinx. She had been more than helpful and was showing her true colors, but she had still been a villain just a couple days prior. "Why did you want to leave the Brotherhood?"

"I wasn't part of the Brotherhood."

''You were working for them, you know what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't know much about the Brotherhood. I got my orders from one of their generals and just did my best to not let them follow through on their threat." Jinx was visibly uncomfortable.

"Which general, do you know?" Robin asked hopefully.

"Well, I could only guess between the guys because I know it wasn't Madame Rouge. Do you know what the others sound like?"

"We happen to have a recording of General Immortus. So if it isn't him, then it has to be Mallah." Robin said excitedly.

He typed a few words into the computer in front of him. Unlike Slade, and Batman, Robin had a normal computer that he put together himself.

"There we go... " Robin hit enter and turned the screen towards Jinx.

The recording played, showing Jinx one of the Titans previous fights.

"No, that isn't who gave us orders," Jinx said assuredly.

"Well, that is good news for once."

"Huh? Why is that good news?"

"Well, I plan on capturing Mallah."

Jinx's eyes went wide. "You p-plan on capturing him?"

"Aside from intellect, and his laser rifle, he will be the easiest to capture and hold as well as interrogate." Robin reasoned.

"I'll be back in the common room in a bit. I need to go through and make up a plan. I appreciate your information, and Jinx?"

"Yeah?" she said as she got up to leave.

"Welcome to the Titans!" Robin said with a grin.

_**»§«**_

'How dare that little green... monster, steal from my bookcase, from MY room!'

Raven stomped down the hallway, steam coming out from under her hood. The long walk back to her room was completely silent. She looked down at the book and was reminded of how dumb Beast Boy could be. Not only was reading it one of the dumbest things he could do, it was also extremely dangerous, due to the spells that are within the book.

She arrived at her room and instead of entering the code to open the door, she phased through it. She walked over to her bed and sat down, levitated the book, and focusing on putting it back in its spot on her shelf.

It floated over to the designated spot, and attempted to slide into in on the shelf. It stopped right along the spine of a book already in that particular spot. It then fell to the floor. Raven heard the thump and turned to look.

"Wha...?"

Raven rose from her bed and walked over. She bent over and picked up the book. Looking up, she pulled the book already on the shelf off and her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh no..." Raven was staring at two copies of 'Book of Dark Spells'. It now dawned on her that the book she taken from Beast Boy, was actually his book. Looking back on her argument with Beast Boy - alright, less of an argument and more of her ripping him a new one - that he had never said, 'I'm sorry' or that it was her book.

"Damn…" Raven sighed.

She had messed up, and Raven knew she was going to have to talk to Beast Boy, at least to return his book. 'What was he reading...?' She opened his copy and flipped through. "Hmmm..." Raven kept flipping, looking for a sign of him reading a page.

She got to the page Beast Boy had been reading, which had some stains on it from one of his meals. She read the spell, though she knew to not read it in Latin. "Connected minds, Connected souls." She said, "Why would he be messing around with these types of spells anyway?"

Raven sighed, standing up and cradling both books in her arms. She had no idea how she was going to talk to him after she went off on him.

She heard knocking at her door, "Raven, I just came by to say you're right, but I'd also like my book back." It was Beast Boy.

Her heart jumped into her throat and she gripped the books tightly. She could feel the emotions radiating through the door. Beast Boy was sad, angry, scared and... excited? Why was Beast Boy excited? She opened the door with her powers, seeing him, she gestured him in.

Beast Boy felt anger overpowering his fear as he walked into her room, the door closing behind him. He crossed his arms defensively and glared at Raven. She had her hood down and she was hanging her head.

"Beast Boy..."

"Look Raven," She noticed he wasn't using pet names, a dead give-away that he wasn't happy, "I'm sorry I said you were scary and creepy. You really aren't. I was really mad and said it out of pure anger." He hadn't moved, he didn't shift uncomfortably, or stutter.

She sighed. "Beast Boy ... I'm s-sorry."

Beast Boy's pupils expanded. Raven apologizing is rare, especially after she finishes yelling at him.

"Rae... It's no biggie." he had uncrossed his arms and Raven took it as an invitation that he was going to forgive her. She ran up to him, crossing the final few feet between them while floating, and wrapped her arms around him. Beast Boy reciprocated the hug.

"You aren't... always childish, recently you've been very grown up, especially just a little while ago when I took out my anger on you." Raven said.

"I wouldn't try for anyone but you."

Raven broke the embrace, though she was enjoying the closeness. She looked up and met his gaze. 'I have to stop looking into his eyes, I get lost too easily.' She looked down at the books she was still cradling.

"Here, this one is yours," She handed his book back to him. "Coniuncta mentium, coniuncta anima." She said as their hands grazed each other. A purple glow encircled her, and Beast Boy glowed forest green. She had completed the spell, though she didn't want to tell Beast Boy what it did.

_'That was awesome.'_ Beast Boy said in his head, obviously impressed with the glowing light show.

Raven was now mentally linked to him. It gave her special abilities on top of her already seemingly limitless powers, such as projecting thoughts to one another's minds. A deeper ability to feel his emotions, she would be able to feel his more clearly now without having to reach out. However, he was able to feel hers if she let it go uncontrolled. He was currently nervous, confused and happy. The happiness he was feeling washed over Raven and filled her with warmth.

"Thanks for the apology and giving my book back Rae."

"My name is Raven," she said calmly, trying to maintain her cold exterior, though it was melting, "and let me know if you need any help reading it."

"Sure thing!" he replied happily. Beast Boy began to turn and leave.

"Umm... Beast Boy?"

"Whassup?"

"Want to... meditate? I need to and it will help you with casting those spells." she reasoned, obviously searching for an excuse for him to stay.

He turned around to face her, "You… want me to stay?"

"If you want... You'll expel energy casting any of those spells. I know it's creepy in here for you, and I am as well, but it would be nice to share a meditation session with someone besides my emotions."

"Don't do that to yourself, you aren't creepy. Scary sometimes, but I like that about you." he said.

"You said I was, I was just agr-"

Beast Boy interrupted her, "I said stop that." She could feel him becoming aggitated. "If you want me to stay you have to stop doing that to yourself. When you aren't yelling at me... you're smart, friendly and... beautiful - especially when you smile or laugh." It was Beast Boy's turn to feel Raven's emotions.

She turned bright red and pulled her hood up, trying her best to once again become hidden.

He had never felt someone's emotions before. The warmth that rolled over him, he could feel was directed from her. She was happy, and embarrassed. He was shocked; he could actually feel her emotions. "Rae, I-I c-can feel..."

"Yeah… sorry. I can project emotions if I feel one too much..." she covered up quickly. She didn't want him to know about the link just yet. She was busy trying to make up for being mean to him, "Let's start."

She walked over to her bed and sat down. She crossed her legs and began floating. She nodded her head towards a spot on the bed next to her. Raven didn't like people in her room or on her bed, but she felt that it was owed to Beast Boy.

He walked over and sat down. He was about to cross his legs and join her when their communicators went off.

_'Not now!'_ Beast Boy said in his head.

Raven hid a smirk, knowing that he was desperate to stay with her. She answered the call, "Yes, Robin?"

"Team meeting in the common room in five minutes."

"We'll be there." Raven said.

"We?" Robin asked, a bit confused.

"Yes, BB and I were meditating."

"Whoa, since when do you call him 'BB' and weren't you two arguing just like ten minutes ago?"

Beast Boy was slack jawed, _'a nickname?' _

"We made up." Raven said matter-o-factly with a smile.

Beast Boy's jaw fell more comically making a hole in the floor, _'what's up with Rae?'_ Little did Beast Boy know but when Raven connected the mental link, she had found she was able to share his feelings and siphon off her excess energy to Beast Boy without him being aware. He was unknowingly becoming a battery for Raven.

"Whatever works. Both of you report to the common room as soon as possible." Robin said after closing his own mouth, maybe like Cyborg said a couple days before there was something going on with Raven and Beast Boy.

Raven closed the Communicator and looked at Beast Boy. She used her hand to close his mouth and smiled, then got up. "Come on B, let's go see what Robin wants."

_**»§«**_

"Ah. Professor Chang. Good to see you." Slade said.

Professor Chang was tied up and gagged. He merely narrowed his eyes to show his disapproval.

"I see you're anxious to see why I brought you here. I need you to put together a machine for me," Slade said, crossing his arms behind his back and beginning to pace. "I could do it myself, but I need you to make a couple changes from the original design."

Slade removed the gag from Chang. "What benefit does this grant me?" he questioned Slade quietly.

"First, I won't kill you. Secondly, you will be rewarded."

"Rewarded, with what?"

"Xenothium." Slade said quietly, but coldly.

Professor Chang's interest was instantly captured. "I see. It depends on the amount that you can provide.''

"I can provide you with enough to supply your experiments for years."

"Hmm," Chang took a minute to think, "Very well. Release me and I will begin. We will need parts. I assume you can supply?"

Slade lifted his hand and ignited the bonds, releasing the evil professor. "I can give you access to H.I.V.E. members who will retrieve parts for you, as well as some of the Brotherhood of Evil's robots. You are also welcome to use any of your connections as I assume these parts will not be easy to find. Remember, price is no problem, just build it."

With that last sentence Slade left the room, an audible 'click' could be heard as the door closed and locked behind him. Professor Chang, now free from his bindings, walked up to the wall mounted monitor and began to look over the schematics. He hadn't seen anything like it before, though he had an idea of what it did.

"Rift Generation?"

_**»§«**_

Robin gathered the papers from his desk and uncaringly shoved them into a manila folder; he'd have time to organize them later. He exited his study and made off towards the common room. It had been about fifteen minutes since had asked for everyone to meet. He turned the corner and walked through the door to his waiting team. Everyone was assembled.

Starfire was sitting at the table, obviously waiting for him. Jinx and Cyborg were at the stove cooking a rack of barbeque ribs and Beast Boy and Raven were sitting on the Crescent couch quietly chatting.

"Alright, Titans, listen up."

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards their fearless leader.

''Jinx has provided an opportunity for us," Robin began," we're going to capture Monsieur Mallah."

Beast Boy was the first to speak up, breaking the silence, "What's the plan, Rob?"

"Jinx has informed me that she was recently contacted by Mallah and was ordered to steal an experimental part from STAR labs."

Everyone looked over at Jinx, except Cyborg who continued working on the ribs.

"Mallah called while I was talking to Cyborg before I was made a Titan," she offered.

"Yes, and she has given us enough information to get him and hold him."

"Why are we going to hold him?" Raven asked.

"We have reason to believe that the Brotherhood of Evil is currently working for Slade..." Robin said, gritting his teeth.

"Do we have any idea what they're doing?" Cyborg said walking in from the kitchen with a steaming plate of ribs.

"No. All we know is that they are stealing parts for some machine, and that Mallah will try and meet Jinx to pick up a part."

"Alright, so I expect you have a plan developed to capture him," Raven said, arms crossed.

"Yes. I want you and Beast Boy to go now and retrieve the part, and bring it back here."

"We're luring him then, but to the Tower? What if he doesn't show?"

"He won't, he'll show up at the warehouse he designated. He told me that since I was able to "infiltrate" the Titans that they would trust me with the important part. I've been given direct control of a small section of the Brotherhood's army and Gizmo and Mammoth. I told him I'd bring the part to that warehouse later tomorrow. I tried my best to keep the Tower out of harm's way."

"Alright, Rae and I will go get this part." Beast Boy said.

Everyone expected her to hit him on head for the nickname, or in the very least, correct him, but she didn't. In fact she shocked them. Raven turned to him, "Alright, let's go," and with that she grabbed his hand and dragged a blushing, stuttering, Beast Boy towards the door.

_**»§«**_

Raven had a lot going through her mind as she briskly walked through the doors of the common room.

She just basically marked Beast Boy as her own, not even a half hour ago, and vice versa, through the connection spell. Did she really want to go that far? She knew she liked him now, thanks to the chat she had with Affection. She wasn't aware of a way to break the spell, but since she knew almost all spells had counter-spells, she could probably find one in a pinch. Though the thought kept running through her mind, was she now permanently tied to him? Would he be ok with it? Her thoughts were interrupted by a new wave of emotions washing over her. She was feeling Beast Boy's embarrassment and warmth, which she could now tie to affection.

'You'll be fine Ravey.' Happy attempted to cheer her up, with all the doubt swirling around in her head. It was actually nice to hear from her for once.

"Rae... can I have my hand back? Not that I'm not enjoying holding your hand, I wish I could do it more often and I'm sur-"

She squeezed his hand and smiled, letting her hand drop and mumbling, "sorry..." She hadn't realized how calming his grip was until she had let him go.

Raven conjured a black disk for both of them and quickly stepped on, waiting for him. "Taxi for two?" she asked with a grin, trying to be as nice as possible to him, since she had thrown him off in the past.

Beast Boy got onto the disk and sat down. Raven set it in motion and took a seat next to him. She covered the disk in a protective shell and set the disk off at a speed unsurpassed by anyone except maybe Kid Flash. She knew that teleporting multiple people drained energy out of her like no other, and she would be useless in a fight after doing so. She learned that she could cover her disk and transport people faster than an airplane or the T-ship and keep her powers in check by meditating while in flight.

"What's going on Rae?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well as much as I love the new touchy-feely you, it seems odd that you had such a quick switch. I mean earlier today you were yelling at me, now you seem, dare I say it, happy with me."

Beast Boy had just done something that Raven had never expected, he used his brain. Not only did he use it, but he used it well, and created a coherent sentence that logically made sense. "Wow, Beast Boy. That was well thought out, especially for you." She said with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm worried about you. I didn't b-break you did I?" he said with a hint of fear.

Raven giggled, "Of course not."

"Seriously, you're alright?" he said skeptically, taking into account she had just giggled.

"Better than alright," she said with a happy sigh. Being able to siphon off some of her excess energy to Beast Boy was wonderful. She was able to feel, not one hundred percent, but she could afford a laugh or even, as she realized it, to hold his hand.

"This is nice." Beast Boy said casually, leaning back on his elbows.

"It is." Raven was now arguing with herself inside her own head. While she could choose what thoughts to broadcast to him, he, however, could not.

'_Why does she have to be so beautiful?_' he had projected unknowingly.

The pause was comfortable.

"Hey Rae, I have a question."

"Yes Beast Boy?"

"Why can I still feel what you're feeling? And it's only you. I couldn't feel anyone else's while I was in the common room."

Raven knew she'd have to tell him about the mental link soon, but she wasn't planning on doing it then. "Maybe we made some sort of connection after our fight," she tried to play it off.

"Yeah, maybe. I have a feeling it has to do with that glow we had after you muttered something," Beast Boy scratched his head, "Come to think of it, I had that same thing happen when I tried that spell in the book."

Raven was beginning to panic would he figure it out? What would happen if he did?

"I'll have to start learning Latin, so I can figure out what that spell says, unless you wanna tell me?"

"Better you learn for yourself.'' Raven responded quickly, almost panicked.

"I will."

"We're about there." Raven said, standing up to survey the land below them. She wrapped her cloak around her lithe frame as her summoned disk lowered into Metropolis, home of Superman and the Justice League.

They descended onto the STAR Labs roof, Beast Boy now standing next to Raven as they landed gently, the cover and disk disappearing an inch or so from the ground. They were greeted by three cheerful scientists.

"Hello, Titans! Cyborg called ahead and let us know that you would be picking up the converter," the three scientists walked forward, "Pardon my manners, let us introduce ourselves. I am Dr. Tyler Patterson. I specialize in Quantum Physics."

Dr. Patterson was a tired looking man, well built for a scientist, who always wore a baseball cap. His heavy southern drawl betrayed his education, as many would describe him as a "country boy". He had decided that he wanted to work in Quantum Physics after learning about wormholes and how matter could seamlessly be transferred over great distances in an instant.

The second man walked up and shook their hands. "My name is Dr. Michael Devine, I work alongside Tyler and my focus is Quantum Teleportation.

Dr. Devine, while always peppy and up for a joke, was an imposing man. He had multiple black belts and the athletic body to match, though it was hard to see through his lab coat and suit. He had followed alongside Dr. Patterson in school when the two began discussing teleportation. Their interest in the field was multiplied when they had learned about Raven and her ability to go from one place to another instantaneously.

The third and final scientist walked forward, "Welcome Titans. I'm Dr. Josh Thompson. My focus is Mechanical Engineering. These two eggheads design it and I build it."

Dr. Thompson was a very tall man with glasses. He looked very professional and was, when the time called for it. Though he was known to his friends as the "quiet party animal." Dr. Thompson had met the two later down the road on their first job at STAR labs. The three had been working together for 6 years now. He had also gained some fame around the labs as one of the people who helped rebuild Cyborg, and later, helped him upgrade his systems.

"So you guys built this part we've come to get?" Beast Boy asked.

"He catches on quick," Dr. Devine prodded jokingly, "Almost as quickly as our resident country boy."

"Watch it, podge." Dr. Patterson said with a grin.

"Follow us, we'll show you to the converter and introduce you to our boss." Dr. Thompson commented, ushering his two colleagues back towards the roof door.

Beast Boy shrugged and followed, unsure of the prodded joke and its meaning. Raven sighed, _'It's going to be a long day,'_ she thought.

"What that Rae?"

"Nothing Beast Boy, they seem nice enough is all."

He smiled, "Never seen a more badass group of scientists. I expected some weirdo's with no social skills."

"They aren't all like that, B. Look at Cyborg. He could easily get a doctorate."

Beast Boy began to laugh, "Dr. Cyborg!"

Raven smiled, she'd have trouble calling him a doctor too.

They continued following the scientists who were quietly bickering amongst themselves. Beast Boy was walking behind the scientists and in step with Raven. He was feeling amazing. Raven was being friendly and he was able to ride on her disk, which she had stressed would never happen. _'Should I take a chance?'_ he thought.

Raven had heard his question, even though he had aimed it at himself.

_'It's now or never,'_ Beast Boy broadcasted. He built up his bravery and reached out for Raven's swaying hand. The initial muscle movement was the hardest. He made his best attempt to be as gentle and slow as possible. To his surprise, she didn't even recoil.

Raven had been waiting for this, anticipating it, almost longing for it. Right when she heard him say 'it's now or never,' she chanted her mantra and relaxed. She had expected all the lights in the hallway were in to explode, although, nothing happened. Either siphoning off some of her power to her new green battery or that it just felt natural had done the trick. She looked up after interlacing her fingers with his, and caught his eyes. She had wanted him to make the first move, and he did. She had been afraid that she would have to attempt to show him how she felt on her own, but he had just done so for her. A weight was lifted from her shoulders. The brand new Chromatically Challenged Couple™ made their way down the hallway following the scientists.

"I knew it!" yelled a new doctor who had just appeared.

This new scientist was medium height and build. He had his hair spiked and had a reddish-brown beard. His field was Political Science, although he had been taken on by Dr. Silas Stone 7 years ago once he graduated to deal with the politicians that occasionally hounded STAR labs. He was also kept aboard once he showed management potential, and had built his own group that was directed to build the converter. They were now the top team working at STAR labs.

"It's an honor to meet you both," the scientist began, "My name is Dr. Chris Plavcan. I'm in charge of these guys and they let me help a little every once in a while."

Dr. Plavcan turned to the other three scientists, "I told you so - 'BBRae'."

The three cracked a smile and stared at the ground. They were all uneasy, but looked as though they had just lost a bet.

"You'll have to excuse him," Dr. Thompson began, "I take it as Teen Titans, you hear this all the time."

Raven, still holding Beast Boy's hand, spoke up for the first time. "No, actually, we have no idea what you're talking about."

Beast Boy then spoke up, "Actually Rae, I do."

She turned to him, clearly shocked at his knowledge on this odd subject, "What is it then?"

"Well see, we have fan clubs, and some of them are for… pairings."

"Pairings? Do I even want to know?"

He shook his head, indicating no, but Dr. Plavcan spoke up anyway, "There are people who pair you Titans together, relationship wise... Robin and Starfire - known as 'RobStar'. Cyborg and Jinx, otherwise known as 'Cyjinx'. Though they have had some pairings in 'Flinx', or Kid Flash and Jinx. Then finally… you and Beast Boy, otherwise known as 'BBRae'."

Raven scowled, "People have nothing better to do with their lives?"

The scientists stared at their boss, suppressing a laugh. "Laugh it up guys, I was still right," he responded.

"Yeah, you win that one," Dr. Devine started, "Lets show them the converter."

Raven sighed, clearly agitated. Beast Boy squeezed her hand, "Don't worry, they kept from mentioning the odd pairings." As the sentence left his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say.

Ravens stopped, dropping his hand. "What do you mean, 'odd pairings'?' She asked, raising an eyebrow.

There was no escape for Beast Boy, "Well... there's... ummm..."

Dr. Patterson saw him in a bad spot and came to his rescue, "Beast Boy, could you help me with this?"

He quickly ran over to the good doctor and Dr. Plavcan walked up to Raven. "You asked about odd pairings?" He was going to take the brunt of her anger while the green hero and his co-workers got the converter ready.

"Well, yes. But I'm not sure I care." she said coldly.

"Well, I suppose you're a little interested in who you're paired with at least?"

Raven had to give it to the man, he wasn't scared of her. "Not particularly."

"Well, obviously you and Beast Boy. That's the normal pairing." He continued without regarding her answer.

Raven glared at the man who was looking up and beginning to count the pairs on his fingers.

"Then there's you and Robin."

Raven's face didn't portray her dismay. 'Ew,' she said to herself. She and Robin had a connection, which they had gained when she had to enter his mind, but she thought of him as a father figure and couldn't imagine dating him.

"Then there's the taboo one, "he began, beginning to show signs of fear, "You, and Red X."

"What?!" she screamed. Red X was the villain that Robin had turned into to get close to Slade, though after he hung up the costume, someone had broken in and taken it.

Beast Boy didn't look up. He knew she was discussing pairings with the lead scientist.

She could feel his fear, and did her best to soothe herself. "Those last two… are messed up."

"Does that mean you really like him?" he said quietly, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.

Raven didn't answer, but smiled to herself, letting Dr. Plavcan catch a glimpse, "We all set, Beast Boy?"

''Yes ma'am!" he said with a mock salute.

"We'll be heading to your tower as well." The scientists said.

"What? Why?" Beast Boy asked.

"No idea, Cyborg's orders. His father who owns the labs told us just before you got here."

Cyborg's father, Silas Stone ran the labs and was responsible for saving Cyborg and replacing his damaged body with cybernetic implants.

"Alright, Dr. Plavcan." Beast Boy said.

"Please, it will get tiring calling us all 'Dr. This' and 'Dr. That'. My name is Chris."

Dr. Thompson was next, "Josh."

"Mike is fine for me." Dr. Devine stated.

"Ya'll can call me Tyler." Dr. Patterson said in his heavy drawl.

Beast Boy was excited and followed along, "B, or BB is cool for me!"

"Raven still." she added dryly.

"Good, now that we're all friends, how do you want to do this?"

"We'll take the converter and meet you guys at the tower." Beast Boy said.

"Right-o. We'll see you there. We have to get our last member of the 'Dream Team'" Mike said, pulling on his coat.

With that, the scientists left. Raven raised her arms and enveloped herself, Beast Boy and the converter, teleporting them to the roof. In the hour or so that they had been inside, the sky had darkened. Clouds had rolled in and a cold breeze had replaced the warmth from the sun-heated stationary air.

"Let's get going before it gets more miserable outside." Raven said, summoning her disk-taxi, which was far from the yellow of American cabs. Beast Boy didn't mention it, but he felt odd around the converter. His feral instincts were yelling at him to stay away.

Over the past few hours he had begun to have increased senses, more so than they already were. He was beginning to crave food, and not just tofu. He also wanted more desperately than ever to show affection to Raven. He had no idea what was going on.

'I wouldn't expect you to.' a cold voice said to him.

Beast Boy looked around the disk, Raven had her eyes closed. 'What?'

'You're slowly letting me free.'

'Who are you and how are you tal-' Beast Boy then realized who it was. 'I suppressed you. Cyborg gave me an antidote.'

'An antidote, for a part of yourself?'

Beast Boy thought about it, it did seem dumb.

'I'm not here to take over.'

'Why do I find that hard to believe?'

'In due time you will see.'

Then all was quiet. Raven turned to him and it started to rain. She sat down with him and put her cloak around them. "What's wrong?"

Beast Boy considered keeping it to himself but knew better. "Remember when Cyborg gave me the antidote?"

"For The Beast, yes."

"He isn't gone." he mumbled, dropping his head, cringing a bit when Raven mentioned his feral side.

Raven considered what to say, feeling his emotions of terror and guilt over what lay dormant inside him for so long. _'Everything will be ok, Garfield.'_ she said to him through the mental link.

He turned to her opening his mouth to say something but was lost for words. She had used his real name… inside his head! He had only told her once before, when he accidently told the team.

"Yes, Gar. The spell you were looking at before... I finished it." Raven said, maintaining eye contact.

"What was it?"

"It's an old, dark spell to connect minds and souls." It began down pouring. Raven had created her covered disk for them to travel in, but the rain made it cold. They were still a half-hour from the tower, even at her supersonic speed.

"So, what does that all mean? And I mean both parts, Rae." Beast Boy had anticipated her hesitance to tell him about the 'souls' part.

"We're connected. We can talk to each other through a mental link, and we can also share emotions."

"So I just talk in my head and you can hear me?"

"Yes." Raven said without a smile, unsure of how Beast Boy would react.

"Dude! That's so awesome! But wait, what about the soul part?"

Raven relaxed a bit, smiling. "Well, I'm not one hundred percent sure, but that part should only work on... soul mates..."

"Soul mates?"

"Yes. At least that is what the second part of the spell connects. "

"Does that mean..."

"Not necessarily, but there's a chance it could mean exactly that."

This was a lot for Beast Boy to take in. Not only was he now connected to Raven mentally, but she might be his soul mate.

_'There is one more thing I neglected to tell you.'_

_'What now?'_ Beast Boy broadcasted, afraid of the answer. This was going to take some getting used to.

_'I've been able to siphon off some of my power into you. It's been allowing me access to my emotions... I've been able to hold your hand and nothing overloaded. Thank you...'_

Beast Boy was glad that he could make her happy. She deserved it more than anyone in his eyes. He was about to respond when he heard through the link.

_'We're home.'_

Raven lowered the disk onto the Titan's roof, encasing the converter in her dark energy, raising it up. Beast Boy had followed Raven's lead as she dispersed the disk, both of them landing gracefully on the roof. The two, with package in tow, made their way down the stairs to the common room.

_**»§«**_

"Do you have any idea what they're doing?"

"Who?" Robin questioned.

"The Brotherhood, and Slade," Cyborg answered.

"I have some idea, but Slade isn't dumb enough to do it… I hope."

"Why? What do you think is happening?"

"Well, look at the part they stole. It's experimental. What things could they do with it?"

"Well, it's a converter. Basically, in layman's terms, it's creating energy from nothing."

"Energy from nothing?" Robin asked, not sure what that meant.

"Well, the scientists will be able to explain it better, but it prevents particles from destroying each other and creates energy from that." Cyborg explained.

Robin was lost a bit, but he got the gist of it. "Basically it's a giant power source."

"Bingo," he responded, "so when are B and Raven supposed to be back?"

"They should be here. We should head to the common room and wait for them. Then we'll pack it up and get it ready to go to the warehouse."

Cyborg stood with Robin, "I've instructed the Scientists who built it to make their way here. They should be here tomorrow morning. I'd like to wait for them to get here before we go and use this thing as bait. It's way too important to lose."

"Good idea. If the Brotherhood or Slade gets their hands on a generator that can make basically, infinite energy, we'd be screwed."

"They should be able to help me place an EMP on it as well as some tracking software in case it gets taken," Cyborg reasoned.

The two teens made their way down the hallway, focused on the task at hand.

"So where's Jinx?" Robin asked trying to relieve a bit of stress of dealing with Slade.

"Shopping."

"Shopping? For what?"

"Well… She's shopping for a bed."

"Didn't you order one?"

"Yep. I did, and it's not big enough."

"Not big enough? She'd fit in a small bed regardless, she's not exactly large like you are." It then hit Robin, it wasn't just for her. "Sharing already?"

'Damn, how does he do that?' Cyborg thought. "Well… yeah. Jinx said she wanted to, and I can't say no to her."

"Wrapped around her finger already? Well… good for you chrome dome." Robin poked playfully.

Cyborg sighed as the duo reached the common room. Just as they were about to go play a game of Mega Moneys 5, they heard the door whoosh open.

"Welcome back, you two," Robin stated, nodding in their direction.

Raven and Beast Boy had just walked into the common room, slightly wet from their minute outside on the roof. Raven was carrying what appeared to be a giant box with wires coming out of it.

"Oh man! I can't believe it's here! This stuff is state of the art!" Cyborg was beside himself. He was always like this around technology. He spent most of his time building his own or upgrading items within the tower. Beast Boy's GameStation was one example. He had coded the game to be harder and had secret levels unlocked which were near impossible to beat.

"Keep your pants on tin man," Beast Boy said with a grin, knowing Cyborg didn't wear clothes, "the scientists who build this should be here later."

"Tomorrow morning, I'll be picking them up in the T-car."

"You might want to bring more than the T-car." Raven said.

"Why's that? It's only the three of them right?"

"Nope, their boss and the final member of their 'dream team' will also be accompanying them." Beast Boy said.

"The more the merrier, I can rent a van or something."

"Alright, what do you want us to do with this converter?" Raven said, standing around holding the part up with her energy.

"Just give it to Cy. He'll take it down to his workshop for safekeeping." Robin ordered.

"The scientists and I will attach an EMP and some tracking modules to it." Cyborg grabbed the part from Raven and walked towards the door, heading down to tinker with the converter. Cyborg loved his tech. He spent most of his time tinkering around the Tower. He was also building his own as could be seen from the many appliances around the kitchen with a "CB Industries" badge plastered on it.

After Cyborg left, Robin turned towards the Chromatically Challenged Couple™, "Both of you need to get some food. That's an order. I'm sure you didn't stop and get something all day."

"Where are Jinx and star?" Raven asked.

"They're out shopping, they'll be back soonish." With that Robin turned to leave, "I'm going to do some training, I need to think."

Beast Boy waited to hear the woosh of the door then vaulted the crescent couch, ready to take a break from the long day. He grabbed his green Gamestation controller, and loaded up Mega Monkeys 5. Raven contemplated going to meditate, but she had an itch that would only be able to be solved by talking to Beast Boy. She phased through the floor onto the couch about two feet away from him.

"Hey you." He said without looking away from the TV.

"Hey yourself." she responded, "Do you have a minute to talk? I don't want to bother you."

"Always for you, Rae." He said, pausing his game and putting down the controller. He had been losing anyway.

Beast Boy turned towards Raven, giving her his full attention. She looked up and made the one mistake she had been trying to avoid, she looked into his eyes. His eyes caught Raven's breath.

_'Wanna talk here?'_ he asked mentally.

_'Sure, for now.'_ She responded, _'So... where do we stand?'_

_'What do you mean?'_

_'Well, you were... holding my hand earlier.'_

Beast Boy's face went red. He had been dreading this conversation because he knew what they both wanted. He also knew Raven was trying to get him to make a second move. He wasn't going to play her game, he was going to turn the tables and make her answer.

_'I don't know? What do you think?'_

Raven, still looking at him, frowning. _'You aren't going to make this easy are you?'_

_'No way.'_ he smiled.

She sighed, while mustering courage. She decided to speak, "Beast Boy..." She scooted slowly over to him. If he was going to make her do this, she was going to make it uncomfortable for him. She grabbed his hand and wrapped it over her shoulder. She released a purr, a sound neither of the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ knew she could make. Raven nuzzled into his shoulder. ''You wanna go get some food with me?"

It had worked. Beast Boy was slack jawed and tried his very best to respond, though he couldn't. He nodded, and Raven enveloped them in her aura.

"Where do you wanna go, Gar?" She asked. They had reappeared on the roof of Titan Tower, Raven wrapped around him. It was still raining, though she had thought beforehand and had conjured a shield over them.

"Rae," he started, "you're OK right? You're not going to overload?"

"You don't remember do you, silly?" she teased, "I can funnel my powers to you. You should remember that and cuddle more with me."

Raven had gone from Ice Queen to Starfire fawning over Robin. It took Beast Boy by surprise, but he loved it. All the feelings he wanted to express, he was now able to. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. "Let's go get Pizza," he said, "As a couple - Our first date?"

"I thought you'd never ask." she grinned and teleported them once again.

_**»§«**_

"You and Cyborg must do the double date with us, friend Jinx! "Star fire cried out jubilantly.

"I'll have to talk old tin butt into it. He is still ashamed of my past. While I am too, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf here." Jinx said dejectedly.

"I will talk to him friend," Starfire cooed while patting Jinx.

The two superheroes were out shopping, even though they had already bought a new, larger, bed for Jinx's room. They had decided that they were going to go clothes shopping, during their time shopping for a larger bed for Jinx's room. They had decided that they were going to go clothes shopping. During their time together they had done, as Star fire had called it, 'the girl talk'. Many subjects were brought up - Robin, Cyborg and the Chromatically Challenged Couple™. Both Jinx and Starfire were nintey-nine percent sure that Raven and Beast Boy were 'crushing' on each other, as Starfire had put it.

Jinx was especially good at noticing budding relationships. She could only guess it had to do with her powers of Luck, both good and bad.

"Let us do the shopping of clothes for Raven. She does not have anything much besides that of her uniform."

While the girls had meant to go incognito using Cyborg's holo rings, they had merely thought the idea of walking and taking public transport, boring and tiring. They decided to deal with oglers and paparazzi in exchange for being able to fly.

Starfire lifted off and flew to the only store she knew that could impress men. "Here Jinx, we will shop at the Secret of Victoria's."

Jinx had given up correcting Starfire. It was a job for Robin. "Star, you really think Raven would want any of that? She seems a bit prude."

"Sorry friend, what is the prude?" Starfire asked quizzically.

"Never mind, what should we get her?" Jinx said, trying to avoid more questions.

Starfire and Jinx spent over an hour in the store. They walked out with three bags worth of goodies for Raven. They had decided together that Raven's physique should be shown off in more than a leotard. So in the end, after ten new pair of underwear had been purchased, they bought shirts and pants to go with it. They stuck to colors Raven liked, mostly shades of pastel purple and some black skinny jeans. They bought her one last item, deciding that heels would be a bit much, they purchased her a pair of Converse.

"I do believe friend Raven will be most pleased with our gifts."

The girls were now flying home, their duty complete.

Jinx laughed, ''If she doesn't it was all your idea!"

"But friend, you agreed that she needed new clothes!"

"Yeah, as long as it doesn't get me killed by the Queen of Mean."

"Sorry, who is this Queen of Mean that you speak of?" Star five asked, naively.

Jinx sighed, "Again, never mind Star. I'll take the fall with ya. Let's just hope she isn't in her room."

"Why?"

"Because we're going to leave it there for her to find and use as she pleases."

The two landed gracefully at the front door. Starfire was carrying all the bags and packages as well as the receipt and delivery slip for her new King sized mattress. Jinx stepped up to the door and a panel flipped out. She placed her hand on it and spoke her Titan ID.

"Bravo, Charlie, Epsilon, Alpha, Alpha, Omega," Jinx rattled off.

The door beeped its approval and the two floated inside. Robin had upped security ever since knowledge of Slade's alliance was known. The two made their way inside, no one was in the common room.

"She isn't here, let's hurry and get this to her room before she gets back."

"Friend Jinx, what if she is in her room and catches us doing, 'the sneaking'?"

"We won't let her catch us sneaking."

The pair of super powered spies made their way to Raven's room. The two were floating down hallway, avoiding unnecessary noise from footsteps. Jinx was the first to reach Raven's door. She pressed her ear to it, hoping Raven wasn't there. Good news was, she heard exactly that, nothing.

"Coast is clear, Star."

Starfire nodded, understanding what she meant as Robin had used such a phrase before. Jinx raised her hand to the door panel and entered a code. All Titans had an emergency code to access doors of other team members. However, this time the code didn't work. Jinx sighed; she'd have to do it her way then. She again put her hand near the pad and a pink glow enveloped her hand and the pad. It beeped approvingly and the door slid open.

"Let's just drop this on her bed and go." Jinx said.

She put down the one bag she was holding, smiled to Starfire, and left.

Starfire put the bags down, and began to pull out an outfit that she thought Raven might like. She moved the bags over to a chair and left the room, closing the door on her way out.

_**»§«**_

Slade sat on his couch, watching football. He may have been a supervillain, but it didn't mean he had to forego his American ways. It was a game he was keen to watch, as it was between the Jump Wizards, and the Gotham Bats. He loved the name of the Gotham team, a small little joke aimed at Batman, due to the fact the Bats hadn't won in just about ten years. He was sitting, for once, with his mask off. In fact he was wearing a black collared shirt, some blue jeans and his old combat boots.

It was odd for Slade to relax. Today though, with his plan for the Titans in motion, and the new power he had accrued, he literally had no worries. Not even Trigon was bothering him.

"How is the game, Master Wilson?"

Slade smiled, "Very good Wintergreen. Our Wizards would never lose to the Bats. It's interesting to watch our team toy with theirs."

"Quite, sir. I have a request from Mr. Chang." Wintergreen said dryly, not really caring about it.

"Oh? What does he need?"

"Seventeen point five million dollars."

"What does he plan to do with it?" Slade dealt with money all the time, and was no stranger to large sums of money. It was once estimated by Robin, that Slade, if he so wanted, could buyout Wanye Industries, Dayton Industries, and Lex Corp, and still have money left over.

"He plans to buy two of the seven parts he says that he will require to build your machine."

"Very well, give him access to the funds but send out our new guest to pick them up. We don't want Chang leaving, he will escape and hide if given the chance."

"Very good sir. I shall inform her that she is to assist Chang in the retrieval."

"No Wintergreen, I shall talk to her as soon as I am done with the game."

Wintergreen nodded his approval, and left the room. Slade was left alone to his game.

"And that the game!" roared the announcer, "The Wizards will again be going to the Superbowl after their crushing 43-8 victory over the Gotham City Bats!"

Slade smiled, his plan was in action, his old ally had returned and another subtle blow was dealt to Batman. Could it get any better? He turned off the TV and got up.

"About time I paid Ravager a visit." He walked up the stairs to the guestroom. He had missed her.

_**»§«**_

_Next time in "The Demon Within": The Chromatically Challenged Couple_ _have their first date, how will it go? And what about the scientists and this converter? Answers to these questions, and more, next time._


	5. Chapter 5: The Date

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Reviews, though simple, do end up reinvigorating me while I write. I also appreciate the 1,100 views on my story! I didn't think this would get that kind of attention! **

**_MAILBAG:_**

**Enhancedsense27: **_Thank you for your kind words. Here's another chapter to add to your addiction!_

**Guest: **_Thank you! Yes I do put a lot of time into it. I spend a week each chapter to make sure it goes just right._

**JasonVUK: **_Here's the date, and we'll see what happens with the converter soonish!_

**Dynamite403: **_Thanks! Here's a new chapter for you!_

**Finally, here's Chapter 5…**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own the Teen Titans or any shows that I make references to, or Coke/Pepsi, or anything else that I make a reference to. **

**»§«**

**_Chapter 5: The Date_**

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ popped up from the ground near an alleyway beside their favorite pizza place, 'Justice and a Slice'. They had both agreed that pizza was their best bet, as they would be hard pressed to find a restaurant with a table that had both something for both of them. They decided against wearing holo rings, just as Jinx and Starfire had while they went shopping. Raven was happy to be seen with Beast Boy, even if they had to deal with paparazzi. It would solidify that she wasn't always the Ice Queen and could open up.

Beast Boy didn't have to be asked twice by Raven if he was alright going out in public with her. They had discussed the ramifications of what could happen if they were seen together right before they appeared near the pizza parlor. He was worried that Robin might not be happy about the publicity, but after all, he was dating Starfire now, and they had been out without holo rings.

"You ready?" she asked.

'_You know it babe.'_ He sent her.

'_Watch it Romeo. I might be happy now, but you're still dealing with a demon_.'

'_Half demon, half Angel.'_ He corrected her gently.

'_Did anyone ever tell you how smooth you can be?'_ She grinned at him.

'_Only seems to happen around you._' He added, returning the grin.

They walked hand in hand towards the parlor. Many of the citizens saw them and were staring. Mumbling could be heard, "Isn't that Raven and Beast Boy? Why are they holding hands?" Although not all of the mumbling were damning statements, "It's about time," could be heard as well.

Beast Boy led Raven to the front and was greeted by a waitress, "Why don't ya'll find a seat and I'll be with you in a moment." She said.

'_She sounds like Tyler.'_ He said to Raven via mental link, "Yes ma'am, we will."

She ran off, delivering a giant pizza to a table of eight people. Beast Boy had no idea how she was carrying it by herself.

The couple had many pairs of eyes on them now. Being superheroes they were used to this, but it wasn't really just because they were Titans tonight. Raven had talked Beast Boy into this specifically so the paparazzi would get wind of it. She had figured it would be easy to tell the team about them after Robin discovered it in his morning paper. Even though she had no trouble being flirty around her new boyfriend, she was still worried about her public image. She wanted the people to know she could care, but didn't want to ruin her cold image she had built up. If people thought she was going soft, she would be bothered for autographs and interviews all the time. It happened to the rest of the Titans, but it seemed that Raven was invisible when people came around. She liked it that way, though sometimes she wished even one person was like Gar and didn't give up no matter how afraid of her they were.

They picked a table out on the patio of 'Justice and a Slice'. Beast Boy wasted no time looking at the menu. He had been to this particular pizzeria so many times that he knew the menu off the top of his head, but it settled his mind to read it.

'_Just relax, Gar.'_

'_Easy for you to say, everyone is staring.'_

'_Aren't you used to that?'_

'_Yeah, but not used to being judged so much in the first few minutes I arrive.'_

Just as soon as she was going to attempt to calm him down, the waitress walked up. She was about the same age as the Titans, no older than eighteen years old. She had dark brown hair and was obviously one of the cheerleader types at her high school.

"Hey there! What can I get for you two?"

"I think we're going to do a split pizza." Raven said in her monotone. She was using it only around others. Her tone was much different when she was with Beast Boy. "Half apple with white Cheddar, and half pepperoni. Please make sure that there's no pepperoni on his side. He's vegetarian."

"Oh don't worry hon, we know Beast Boy. We'll make sure it's perfect!" she said with a huge smile, "Can I get you anything to drink while I put your order in?"

"Do you have any tea?" Raven asked in her gravelly voice.

"Yes ma'am, we have some Iced Tea."

"I'll have that," '_even though it isn't close to my herbal tea_.' She said as an afterthought.

"I'll just have some Coke."

"Pepsi okay?"

Beast Boy nearly blew a gasket, "No, it isn't ok! It's not the same thing, why does everyone ask as if Pepsi can replace coke!"

"Relax hon. I was just messing with you - one Ice Tea and one Coke coming up." With that, she walked away.

'_You're so gullible._' Raven taunted.

'_Well, I mean how can they understand the plight of all Coke drinkers, when they're offered Pepsi!'_

'_See?'_ she shot him a smile.

Beast Boy sighed, admitting defeat to her accusation. _'I gotta say, I love having this link. It's really easy for me to talk to you without others hearing, I can say whatever I want.'_

'_I was thinking the same thing.'_

'_We should probably talk out loud though, it might look odd if we just sit here staring at each other.'_

"I agree." She said.

"So. Why the huge change of heart about me?" Beast boy asked.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, legitimately confused.

"Well… You always seemed to hate me. And I haven't exactly done much to encourage you to like me."

"If I'm not allowed to call myself creepy than you're not allowed to put yourself down, don't be a hypocrite."

"Alright, sorry." He said, as his ears drooped down a bit, "So tell me, why the change?"

"Well… I'll tell you this. A lot of things that you believe to be true about my feelings towards you, are wrong."

"So you don't like me?" he said, panicked.

"Oh for Azar's sake…" she cried out, "I do dummy! Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"Hehe, yeah I guess so."

"Anyway, as I was saying. I've never thought about us dating until recently." She was concerned about telling him about her dream. He may take it badly, or maybe he would be fine and brush it off. In the end she decided against it, at least for now. "Listen closely because I will only tell you this once, and never in the company of others."

Just as she said that, the waitress walked up and placed Raven's Iced Tea and Beast Boy's Coke in front of them. "Your pizza will be out shortly! Lemme know if you need anything else!" She walked off just as quickly as she had arrived. Raven took advantage of the drink in front of her and took a big sip, using it as a way to gather her thoughts.

"Ok. So, as I was saying. One time deal. I find you funny. You're cute, especially when you're using one of your forms to convince me of going somewhere or doing something. And I love your company, though sometimes I really do need to meditate. Most importantly, you make me feel like I'm not alone."

"Rae… I never really knew. My goal was to make you happy. I never thought I'd have a chance."

"Well lucky boy, you do. So don't mess it up."

Beast boy smiled, "What are we going to tell the team?"

"It's my understanding that since most of us can see that Robin and Starfire were crushing on each other, that they could see some odd stuff between us over the past few days. But I assume we could tell them anyway, just to make it official, though I would prefer that we let Robin find out through his morning paper."

"That's a good idea with Robin, and I can't wait to see the look on Cy's face. He always told me I never had a chance."

"Then we'll make sure we show him just how lucky you are when we see him next."

"That'd be so sweet! It'd be like beating his high score, but one that he can't even compete with!" Beast Boy nearly jumped out of his seat as he thrust his fist into the sky. Raven giggled quietly.

"I'm glad you're happy about it," Raven sighed, "Being able to siphon off energy to you is so… liberating. I can actually feel happy, or laugh, or even get mad without my powers going off."

Many people by now had noticed the dark sorceress and the green changeling and many calls had been made and the paparazzi were on their way. The time was ticking down until the couple was mobbed by reporters and would have cameras shoved in their faces.

A woman walked up to the two Titans, holding their pizza. "Hello, Titans." She said simply. "You don't know who I am, but I'd love to ask you a few questions. Your pizza is on me by the way."

"Depends, who are you?" Raven said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.

"My name is Janice DeSanto. I'm a reporter here for the Jump City Times. I don't want to pry into your obvious date, but I just have a couple questions."

At the first mention that she was a reporter, Raven instantly locked up, she had been hoping it would have taken them longer to find out that they were here. By then she would have been done with her lunch with her boyfriend and they could have answered a couple questions, posed for a picture and then left. Now they were stuck here at the mercy of this woman.

'_Let's answer her questions. We can turn down ones we don't want to answer and we get a free pizza in turn.'_ Beast Boy reasoned.

'_Works for me, let me answer the first couple.'_ She responded. "Very well, Ms. DeSanto, ask away."

"Please, call me Janice."

"Janice, then. Please ask away."

Beast Boy had already grabbed his first slice and was stuffing his face, partly to play the part of not answering questions, and the other part because he was so hungry.

"OK then. Are you two a couple?" she asked, as she took out a small notepad and a Pilot G-2 pen.

"Yes." Raven said, keeping her answers short on purpose.

"Wonderful! Congratulations you two. Do you two plan on double dating with Robin and Starfire? Considering they just got together a few days before you, right?" she was still scribbling, writing down her thoughts and details she thought were important.

"No idea. And yes, they did."

"So what do you like about our resident changeling?"

"No comment."

"Oh come on Raven, can you give me just a nibble?" she practically begged.

Raven shot her a glare while taking a bite of her pepperoni slice. "Honestly, if you can't see why, I'm sorry for you." She shot a grin which added to her glare.

Janice just smiled while writing, "I see." She said simply. "And Beast Boy? What about you?"

"Rafen is greape," he nearly spat at her, half chewed pizza peeking out from his open mouth, "Sowwy." He said as he took a drink of his Coke and washed down his current bite. "Raven is like my other half."

Janice beamed at him, obviously this was what she was hoping for, "That's so sweet. Do you two plan on going out on any other dates?"

"This is our first, so we'll see after this. However if the paparazzi keep bothering us, we may not go out anymore," 'without holo rings.' She sent to Beast Boy as she finished her sentence.

"Well, I won't keep you any longer; enjoy your pizza and thanks for answering my questions. Don't worry, no picture needed." She said. She turned to leave, putting away her pad and fancy pen, "One last question, off the record."

Raven didn't answer, but merely looked up at her, as if waiting for the question. The sooner she finished, the sooner they could finish eating and leave.

"Have you had your first kiss with the green hunk yet?" she said, placing a hand on her hip.

Raven and Beast Boy both glared at her, neither of them intending to answer her question.

Janice chuckled to herself, "Thanks again for the interview, and I wish you guys the best," and she was gone.

'_That was fun.'_ Beast boy shot off.

'_At least we'll be in the Times.'_ Raven said.

'_Don't you hate publicity?'_

'_Pretty much, but it will be helpful so when we go out. I won't need to wear one of those holo rings. People will eventually just treat us as a normal couple - That, and Robin.'_

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ sat in silence, or appeared to, as they talked to each other through their mental link. They finished their pizza and got up to leave. Just as they got to the street, at least twenty different cameras blinded them in an ambush. Paparazzi seemed to pop out of the bushes and from behind lampposts and behind cars.

Raven acted quickly, covering both herself and Beast Boy in a black and purple Raven and disappearing into the sky. She hadn't planned where to go, and just wanted to get them out of the situation where they could barely see. She steered her giant form around the sky and landed gracefully on a dock. The giant Raven lowered back into the ground, revealing Raven and Beast Boy standing closely to each other.

"Well, that was cool." Beast Boy said, trying to stay stable on the ground.

"Sorry, I panicked. I don't like cameras." Raven said, raising her hand to put up her hood.

Beast Boy grabbed her hand before she could achieve her goal and she gasped. "Leave it down, don't cover up beauty." He said smoothly.

Raven blushed, but lowered her hand, allowing her hood to stay down. "So what do you want to do now? We're kinda screwed. We can't go out for fear of more paparazzi, and it's only noon."

"I have an idea… I've never tried this though, so you might want to back up a little."

Raven heeded his words and moved back a few steps, staring at him in mild anticipation. It was dead quiet; the only sound that could be heard was the lapping of waves on the dock and the nearby beach. A sound came from Beast Boy, not a groan or even a vocal sound, more feral. The sound of bones cracking could be heard. He was obviously rearranging his bones, but the feral side was crying out in agony. Raven had seen him do this once before, when he turned into The Beast. He wasn't doing that now was he? That would be dangerous, what purpose did it serve?

Beast Boy wasn't turning into The Beast. He was trying a new transformation that he'd been working on in secret. He'd been trying to make himself stronger because Robin always pushed him saying he needed to be tougher and more agile. What better to do than to attempt new animals that had supernatural powers?

A pair of brilliant emerald green wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. He was now standing straight up, screaming.

'_Just a bit more,'_ could be heard.

His skin turned scaly and dark green feathers sprouted from all over. His mouth elongated into a beak. After a few minutes of bone crunching and shape shifting, before Raven, stood an emerald green Hippogryph. He had the head and front legs of an eagle, along with the wings obviously, and the body of a lion.

'_Cool huh?'_ he said to her, as she marveled at his change.

"How the hell did you do that?!" she said, clearly impressed with his change.

'_I can change into anything that I can imagine, though I have to focus really hard and it's painful the first time.'_ He was glad that he was still able to maintain his mind.

"Don't do something that's going to hurt you!" she complained, worried that he could seriously injure himself. She hadn't forgotten about the dream, and it was constantly at the back of her mind.

'_Don't worry sweet-cheeks.'_

'_Seriously?' _She shouted through her mind, '_Enough with the pet names!'_

'_Kay, baby.' _He shot off, trotting over to her.

She scowled, but ignored him. She actually didn't mind 'baby', as long as he kept it in his head. She wasn't about to be called anything short of Raven in public, aside from a possible 'Rae'.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

'_You're going to ride on me.' _If a hippogrpyh could grin, he was doing his best to try.

'_You're kidding.' _

'_No. I'm not,' _he knelt down, '_Swing your leg over and hook it behind my wing just above my ribcage.'_

Raven really didn't want to, but after all the teleporting she's done all day, she was exhausted. She sighed and slowly climed up onto his back. She followed his instructions and put her legs in front of his ribcage.

'_Good, now when I take off, you might want to try and lay as flat as possible_.'

"Alright," She said, nervously_._

Beast Boy raised himself up off the ground. He aimed himself down the dock, hopeful that it was enough room. He hadn't flown as a hippogryph before, so this was new for him, as well as Raven, though he wouldn't openly admit it to her.

"You've done this before right?"

_'Ummm, ready?'_ he distracted.

"Gar..."

_'Here we go,'_ he shot off down the dock. Raven clamped her legs down harder on his sides, and nestled her head into his feathery mane. The two galloped down the dock, Beast Boy flapping his wings. Just before reaching the end, to his great relief, he achieved lift. He flew higher, flapping constantly until he achieved a cruising attitude that he thought Raven would be comfortable with. As they were taking off, Beast Boy could sense her fear. This link was working in his favor.

_'It's ok baby, you can open your eyes.'_

_'I really don't like flying… unless it's my own power.'_ she said meekly.

_'I'd never let anything happen to you.'_

Raven felt safe with him. She just didn't like flying. Helicopters, planes, Beast Boy's back, it didn't matter. All of them brought her out of her comfort zone.

For some reason though, she was able to enjoy the feeling of flight when not under her own power. This magical creature he was able to transform was very graceful yet sturdy and made her feel as though flying was fun.

'_Thank you, Gar.'_

'_Don't thank me yet, Rae.'_ He began a steep dive, pulling up at the last second as his front claw dug into the ocean's waves. Raven sat up a bit and looked out towards the bay. The Titan's tower was standing out amongst the beautiful bright blue sky. She was actually enjoying herself.

He flew out over the bay and circled the tower, but didn't land as she expected, he kept going. They flew out towards the other side of Jump City near the forest. Beast Boy had never told her that he came out here all the time to relax. He had found many places within the forest that were amazingly beautiful, but he wasn't going to anything inside the forest.

He grazed the tops of the trees as they crossed the edge of the forest. The spot they were heading to was just over the last few trees. It was a secluded area of Jump City National Forest that held a beach with white sand and beautiful clear teal waters that you'd find the likes of in Bermuda. Beast Boy landed and Raven slipped off his back onto the beach.

"Gar, it's beautiful here…"

He had morphed back into his human form and was now staring at her with a smile on his face. "I've been wanting to ask you this for a while."

"Huh?" Raven turned towards him, now oblivious to the beautiful surroundings and was now lost in his emerald eyes.

Beast Boy took out his mp3 player and a small speaker. He placed it on the ground and a song began to play. Raven hadn't heard this song in a very long time, but she recognized it, "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra. "Will you dance with me, Raven?"

She hadn't danced before, and was embarrassed. "I… don't know how." She said quietly.

"Well it's your lucky day," He shot her his signature toothy grin. He walked over to her and placed her right hand in his left, and placed her left hand on his shoulder. He then wrapped his free right hand around her waist. "Just follow my lead and step as I do," he said with a smile.

She could smell his strong musky scent. She had expected him to reek like his room was rumored to, though he didn't. It was intoxicating. Beast Boy had the same thought going through his head, the lavender smell that worked its way into his nostrils was driving him crazy.

"_Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm__  
__And your cheeks so soft,__  
__There is nothing for me but to love you,__  
__And the way you look tonight."_

He led her gracefully and she was glad she hadn't stepped on his foot, a huge fear of hers. They spun for the few minutes the song played.

"_Lovely ... Never, ever change.__  
__Keep that breathless charm.__  
__Won't you please arrange it ?__  
__'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight."_

The song ended very shortly after, and Beast Boy let go. She missed the touch, and the feeling of contentment. She had only been able to express herself for a very few short hours. It was hard to believe that she had only been linked to him for a day.

"Up for one more? One of my favorites." He asked.

"Sure, as long as you're that close again," she whispered in a sultry manner.

Another song began as Beast Boy scrolled through the mp3 player and selected it. The slow rhythm of drums began, and then a voice cut in.

"_Fly me to the moon__  
__And let me play among the stars"_

Raven definitely knew this one, "Fly me to the Moon," again by Frank Sinatra. She had heard this before when the Titans had gone to a club and that night they were playing classics. She had gone out and bought his whole collection after she heard it.

"This is your favorite?"

Though it wasn't a slow song, they still swayed to the slow rhythm set by Beast Boy. She was surprised that he had such a taste in music, as most his age were into "Dubstep" and "Rap."

"Yeah, I listened to a lot of music, but Sinatra is one of my favorites. I have a thing for big band music."

Before she had realized it she was now nestled into the crook of his neck. Her breathing had slowed and her heart had stopped racing from the excitement of being this close to him.

"I haven't been able to read your emotions so far, Gar," she said concerned.

He had literally stone walled whatever emotion was broadcasting to her and she had been feeling nothing, though she wasn't too worried as his facial features and the enthusiasm and closeness of their dance said he was fine. The song continued to play, almost mimicking how she was feeling.

"_Fill my heart with song  
Let me sing forever more  
You are all I long for  
All I worship and adore"_

"I've been blocking it." He said simply. "I just wanted to give you a break from it. I know how you have to deal with everyone walking around the tower and that definitely has to be draining to feel all the emotions that everyone is feeling."

"It's true, it does get tiring sometimes. I'm here with you though, can you let me in?"

He smiled, and a few seconds later a wave of warmth hit her. She had literally been flooded with the happiest emotion she had ever felt from Beast Boy. Her mouth fell open and she pulled back from Beast Boy almost near the end of the song.

"_In other words, please be true  
In other words, I love you  
In other words, I love you."_

"Wow…" was all she could manage. What perfect timing.

He placed a small kiss on her cheek, and broke the embrace they had neglected to drop after the song ended. He grabbed up his mp3 player and looked back in her direction. "Should we go?"

"Yeah… I guess we should." Raven said sadly. She didn't want to leave, but her duty as a Titan came first, though Beast Boy was working that down to number two. _'Damn him and how smooth he can be.'_

'_I heard that, baby.' _He said.

Raven scowled, 'Crap.'

"Let's get home."

"Sure, lemme just do this, I wanna listen as we go back." He walked over to Raven and clipped his mp3 player to her belt.

She was tempted to slap his hand away when he walked over and reached towards her midsection, but thought better of it and let him clip it on. He bent over after successfully clipping it on, and turned up the volume, pressing play.

"Alrighty, let's go!" he said as "I've got you under my skin" by Frank Sinatra, began to play from her belt. He turned into a parrot and sat on her shoulder. She sighed, but grinned, and took off for the tower.

"_I've got you under my skin.  
I've got you deep in the heart of me.  
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.__"_

_**»§«**_

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™, made their way to their respective rooms as they got home. Raven wanted to take a shower and relax, and Beast Boy wanted to do the same, except on a different floor.

Raven was so happy, it was clear from the small smile she displayed as she walked in. Starfire saw her as she walked by and couldn't help but smirk.

'Friend Raven is definitely happy – It must have something to do with Friend Beast Boy, as he had the same dumb smile on his face.'

Raven walked to her room and phased through the door. She was far too lazy to enter the code every time when it took very little energy to just go through it. She was at first angry, then surprised at what she found.

Her bed was covered in an outfit, and while the 'old Raven' (before her new favorite green Titan became a battery) would have gone postal on someone for first off going in her room, and then shopping for her, the new Raven was happy to at least look at it.

Laid out on the bed was a light purple T-shirt, obviously meant to be form fitting, and a pair of dark jeans. Again, form fitting. She noticed on the floor a small brown and black box. She grabbed it and opened it, and smirked. Inside were a pair of converse that she had considered buying at one point, and lucky her, they were in her size. She considered taking the clothes and throwing them outside her door, but a thought hit her. She could easily wear this to impress Gar. While her leotard was form fitting, her cloak covered up most of her assets, at least what assets she thought she had.

She took off her cloak, and turned to go get a towel for her shower. It was then that she noticed the seven or so bags on the chair near her vanity. She walked over and looked through the first couple bags, which were fine. It was nice that her friends had gotten her clothes. Then she got to the Victoria's Secret bag.

Raven started to see red. How dare they buy underwear for her! That was her business!

She soon calmed down and an evil smile came across her face. This could work in her favor.

_**»§«**_

_Beast Boy was on his way to the shower, and happened to walk past Raven's door. It wasn't on accident though. He knocked on her door, which slid open almost instantly. She was standing there, in her leotard and holding a lilac colored towel. This was almost too much for Beast Boy. He was trying his best not to broadcast, but it slipped out. '__Daaaaamn!'_

Raven smiled and held her towel up, to cover herself, she felt uncomfortable without her cloak. "What's up Romeo?" she asked.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to grab some dinner. I happen to have reservations at this nice Italian place downtown."

"No… Not Panucci's? It's impossible to get a table there. It's jammed packed, and isn't it expensive?" Raven was beginning to sound like a fan girl.

"That's the one. So m'lady, will you accompany me tonight?" he said, in a low bow.

"Of course… I don't think I can afford it though."

"It's on me."

"Wha… how? How did you get a reservation first off, and how are you going to pay for it? You spend all your money on games!"

"That reminds me, you're going to play some games with me at some point, they're fun!"

"Earth to Beast Boy!" she said, trying to get him to answer her question.

"Oh right. Well… You know the Doom Patrol right?"

"Of course."

"Well, Elasti-girl and Mento are my adoptive parents."

"The Dayton's? Steve Dayton and Rita Farr?" she said, her voice trailing off.

"Yeah. When they took me in, they kinda… adopted me." He said, scratching the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable.

"You're the heir to the Dayton fortune?" she asked, hushed.

"Hehe… yeah… They made an account for me when I left the Doom Patrol and said I could use it as I pleased…"

"Oh my god, now everyone is going to think I'm a gold digger."

"No way." He said, flashing his signature toothy grin. "I'll drop by your room in two hours and we'll go to Pannuci's. I have a reservation for seven."

"Ok." Was all she could manage, and he walked away.

'_Dress casual, I plan to. I don't like suits.'_ He said as he went around the corner.

'_You sure? I have a dress I could wear.'_

'_I'll be able to see it eventually. Just casual for tonight, it's known for its food, not for its dress code.'_

She was genuinely happy because of him, a feat that apparently only Beast Boy could have achieved.

_**»§«**_

"About time you guys landed. What was the holdup?"

"Good to see you too, Cyborg." Chris grinned, shaking his hand. He hadn't seen him since that day Cyborg became Cyborg.

"Our flight was delayed." Tyler responded.

The group of scientists included, Tyler, Chris, Josh, Mike, and a newcomer, who Cyborg didn't know. "Who's this last egghead?" Cyborg said, pointing out the new guy.

He walked forward and extended his hand for a handshake. "Name is Dr. Mark Tymensky. You can just call me Mark though."

Mark was the oldest of the group, getting near his thirties. He wore glasses, and rocked a beard just like Chris. He had graduated top of his class at Stanford University. He enjoyed his work and was happy to have joined the 'dream team.'

"I've heard of you. You're the new leading scientist in Biophysics." Cyborg said conversationally.

He smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I was brought on to help work with Mike."

"Ah, yeah, I would assume they need a biologist for teleportation. Any luck?"

"So far, not really, though we've just about proven that you can safely deconstruct and reconstruct someone through molecular transportation."

"I need to get my hands on that stuff for the Tower - would make going out to fight villains a lot easier."

"As much as I love standing around talking, how about we get going?" Josh said.

"Yeah, let's go." Cyborg said.

They had landed at JAX (Jump City International Airport). It was one of the largest in the country next to Gotham's Archie Goodwin International Airport. The five scientists had no idea what they were doing there, only that they had been requested at the Titan's Tower. They followed Cyborg out of the baggage claim.

"So how are we getting to the Tower?" Mike asked.

"Well, I was going to use the T-car, but there are 6 of us. So we'd be one seat short. So I just rented an SUV."

They walked out of the baggage claim, and headed towards the short-time parking lot. They had a lot of gear with them, all different sorts of equipment to work on the convertor. They diligently followed Cyborg until he stopped in front of a black Cadillac Escalade.

"The people who were doing car rentals lent this to us for free due to the fact we've saved the town so much." Cyborg mentioned proudly.

They put all their equipment in the car, and piled in. The car roared to life, the V8 engine making a deep growl as Cyborg put it into reverse and backed out of the parking spot. They paid the quick couple bucks for parking in the lot and made their way on the highway towards the center of town.

"So, why exactly are we here?" Chris asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to be here and we're honored we can come to the Tower, but what's up?"

"Well… We can discuss it more in depth with Robin, but we need some things attached to the convertor, we know it's your baby and we wanna get it back to you in one piece."

"Ah, so what kind of things are we going to attach?" asked Josh, the mechanical engineer in him making its way to the surface.

"Well, some trackers and some other stuff that Robin has devised."

"No offense meant, but why do you need all of us? Josh could have easily handled all of that for us."

They turned down a gated entrance and the iron door guarding it slid open. This was the underground tunnel that ran under the bay that went straight into the Titan's garage.

"Well, we need you guys to figure out what that convertor can be used for."

It was quiet in the car. The scientists knew what it could be used for. The convertor was basically an unlimited power supply; anything in the world could be run on it. The ability for it to generate power meant that its uses were limitless. Even mechanisms that hadn't been developed yet could be run on it.

The Escalade pulled up in front of the T-car and the R-cycle which were stores in the garage. They all piled out of the car and Cyborg helped them with their gear.

Robin had detected that Cyborg was back. The Tower security system was built by Cyborg and had small trackers in everyone's communicators, so everyone could be located no matter what. Robin made his way down to the garage, and on the way he intercepted the parade of brainiacs.

"Welcome to Titan Tower." He said, scaring them.

"Rob, you gotta stop doing that dude."

"Doing what?"

"Being so quiet! I need to put a bell around yo neck so I know when you're coming up on me," Cyborg laughed.

Robin grinned. He prided himself on his ability to be in a room with anyone and not be noticed. Batman had taught him quite a lot and when it came to being invisible, or able to pop up where he wasn't wanted. "My bad, I'll work on it."

"Nah, it's alright - Just scary sometimes."

"So, Cyborg, you going to introduce me?" Robin asked, glancing over the group of scientists.

"This is the 'Dream Team', from STAR Labs which consists of five doctors. 'Dream Team', this is Robin, our fearless leader. That's Tyler, Mark, Mike, Josh…"

"And I guess I'm their fearless leader," Chris began, walking up to Robin, extending a hand, "I'm Chris Plavcan. I've got a PhD. in Political Science and Law."

"I'd ask why a politician is working for STAR Labs, but I'd guess you need to work your ways around some ethics sometimes." Robin commented, returning the handshake.

"You'd guess right. Silas Stone was a friend of mine as I grew up. I knew Cyborg as well."

"So, are you and your 'dream team' ready?" Robin said.

"Of course, what exactly do you need from us? Dr. Stone said to bring this gear, but we can only guess what you plan to have us do."

"Well first, lets get you some food and show you to some temporary rooms we have set up for you."

"Sounds good," said both Cyborg and Mike at the same time.

The group shared a grin, food definitely sounded good. Cyborg hefted all of the equipment and motioned for the scientists to follow Robin, "I'll meet you guys upstairs, just going to drop this off in the Ops room."

Robin and the group walked down the hallway and got into the elevator. Robin pushed the button tabled 'C' for Common room. The doors closed and the 'B' and quickly changed through bright green numbers, stopping near ten, then clearly displaying they had arrived at their designated floor. The doors slid open, and the group walked into the brightly lit, spacious common room.

"Robin, I hope you don't mind me asking, but where is the rest of the team?" Mark asked. He had recently been talking with Chris and was very interested in meeting the team.

Robin eyed him, "Not at all," he began, "Beast Boy and Raven both left after they brought back the convertor, and Starfire and Jinx are around here somewhere."

"We have an idea about where Beast Boy and Raven are." Chris mentioned.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Robin was now crossing his arms. He didn't like being out of the loop. He felt as leader he should know everything about his team, all the time, period.

"Well, in the Labs before they left they were holding hands." Tyler said, sitting down at the table. The rest of the group was still standing, though they would all be seated when Cyborg got back and food was prepared.

"You're kidding," was all Boy Wonder could say. He had joked before with Cyborg earlier, maybe Beast Boy had actually taken them seriously and made a move. Robin was surprised that the resident changeling was still alive.

"No, she was smiling," Josh added.

"It's about time," Robin said, which was oddly similar to what Beast Boy and Cyborg had both said when he had made his move on Starfire.

"Haha, really? They've been flirting for awhile then?" Chris said excitedly.

"Yeah, not openly, but still, you could see they liked each other. I guess they went out together once they got back."

Cyborg walked into the room, "What did I miss?"

"B made his move." Robin said, taking a seat next to Tyler.

"You're kidding." Cyborg said, making his way over to the kitchen.

"That's exactly what I said, apparently they were holding hands at the lab."

"That's all the grass stain better be doing with my lil sis." Cyborg was taking out some ground beef and was beginning to cook some hamburgers for the 'dream team' and his fearless leader.

"Relax, Cy, he won't do anything. He's terrified of her."

"Good point."

The rest of the scientists took a seat around the table. Mark was the first one to speak up, "So Robin, you wanted to know more about the convertor?"

"Yes, I'm interested in knowing what it does and how it works and what it could be used for. Slade and his cronies are specifically after your team and the convertor."

"They're after us?" Tyler and Chris said, almost in unison.

"Yes, after we sent Beast Boy and Raven to retrieve the convertor, I found more information to support that your team is also being sought."

"So you want to know about the convertor. Josh why don't you and Tyler tell him about the convertor." Chris dictated.

"I'll start us off,"Josh said, Tyler nodding his approval. "So pretty much, simply, the convertor is a new power source. It resides inside a vacuum, and is basically two plates so close that only elementary particles such as electrons and protons can pass through."

Tyler took over, "So in space, within a vacuum, where no gravity is, these particles are constantly being created and are constantly nullifying themselves."

Chris interjected, "My father, who loved to lecture me on science and space, once said, " There is a whole lot of something in nothing."

"And he would be correct,"Tyler continued, "Basically the way the convertor works, is when the particles are created, one of the particles has a chance of drifting in between the plates and since they can't nullify, energy is created."

"So it creates energy, from nothing..." Robin said.

"Yes. It's an unlimited power supply, and it's extremely effective."

"How effective?" Cyborg asked, he had the most to gain, as he could use a convertor to make Titan Tower self-sufficient.

"The current one, based on size, is comparable to probably about seventy-fine nuclear reactors."

"Holy..." Cyborg began as Robin tensed up.

"So it could be used to power anything," Robin asked, regaining composure.

"Yes. The US government has already asked to buy a few of them." Chris said.

"Then why is Slade after your 'dream team' specifically?" Cyborg asked.

"I might have an answer for that..." Chris responded nervously. "We're developing a way to create Wormholes."

"Like, FTL travel?" Cyborg asked. Robin looked confused by the terminology so he followed it up with an explaination, "Faster than Light."

Robin nodded, following along. "So you're developing tech to get us out there in the Universe."

"Right. Since we know there are other civilizations out there - thanks to a few members of the Justice League - we've been trying to build ways to cut travel."

"Well it's a good thing you guys are here, instead of out there in the hands of Slade. Lets eat up and then Cyborg can show you to your rooms."

"I am so excited for some of Cy's legendary cooking!" Tyler said.

"Well they're done now! I'll bring these two to the girls. Ya'll dig in!" Cyborg put a plate of burgers down in front of the group and walked off towards Jinx's room, assuming that Starfire would be with her. 'Hope she likes my cooking.'

**»§«**

Raven walked down the hallway towards the shower, her mind was elsewhere. She had her lilac colored towel draped over her shoulders and her lavender scented shampoo. She knew it drove him wild, therefore it was now one hundred percent necessary. If he was able to get away with pet names and those gorgeous emerald eyes then she needed some sort of ammo, right?

Raven went into the shower and began to run the water. The bathroom, Which was unofficially the 'girls bathroom' was covered in white tiles with lines of multicolored tiles making rings around the room. There was a color for each Titan. The boys had a similar mural in their bathroom. Robin's was the highest up, and was a bright red. Under Robin's was an orange ring, for Starfire. Smack dab in the middle was Cyborg's blue ring. Then came her purple ring, and under her was Beast Boy's green one. She had never noticed before, but the two couples had been paired and separated by Cyborg, who now needed to add Jinx's pink ring next to his.

Raven stopped staring at the wall, remembering her time constraint. She had picked the shower stall at the end the first time she had been in there, and now used it every time. She hooked her towel on the wall outside her stall and quickly added her leotard and underwear to the hook. She locked the door with her powers and turned on the water.

Raven liked warm, steamy showers. She had to have a cold one every now and again when she had needed to stay awake, but preferred the warmth that seeped into her muscles and deeply relaxed her.

Standing under the flow was relaxing, Raven was able to calm her mind. She, of all people, was dating Beast Boy. It was a fact she would not soon forget. The shower continued as she cleaned herself and washed her hair to make the smell as obvious as possible. Raven resisted the urge to say 'hi' to Beast Boy through their link. Even though she was going to see him soon, she missed him badly.

She finished her shower, wrapping her small frame in her lilac towel. She walked over to the sink and rubbed a small portion of steam off the mirror. she viewed herself, admiring her own curves.

"Guess I should get ready..." Raven was confident that Beast Boy would enjoy what he saw. She smiled and grabbed her clothes, seeping through the floor in her vortex.

Raven had a plan. She intended to follow along with Beast Boy and dress casual, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to look bad. She toweled off and put on a selection of underwear and clothes. After dressing she grabbed her communicator and clipped it to her belt.

_'Hey Romeo, you ready_?' She broadcasted to Beast Boy, as she made her way out of her room, and down the hallway.

'_Yeah, I'll be right there, just had to take care of some stuff_.'

Raven walked into the common room, happy that Gar would be there soon. However, Raven's mood dropped these and she reached the table and noticed who was on the couch.

"Hello, friend Raven!"

Raven's eyes drooped, and a sigh escaped, "Hello Star." She was hoping she could put off talking to the jubilant alien princess until later.

"I see you do indeed enjoy our choices of clothes we thought you would like!" Starfire flew over to Raven, "You look glorious, friend!"

"Thanks Star." Raven decided now would be a good time for some calming tea. She put on a scowl and took out her favor it mug. It had been a past birthday gift from Beast Boy. It was a black mug with a beautifully painted Raven that stretched over much of the mug.

"So, friend, where are you off to dressed as such?" Starfire asked.

"Uhh, out… in a bit."

"Oh? Is that so?" added another feminine voice.

"Yes, Jinx, it is." Raven finished making her tea and went to sit on the couch.

'_Help_...' Raven almost shouted to Beast Boy.

"Who with?" Jinx asked slyly. She already knew obviously but was having fun making her uncomfortable.

_'What's wrong? Are we under attack? Are you ok?_' he asked, his voice laced with panic and concern.

Raven shot Jinx a deathgare, '_Jinx and Star are asking me where I'm going!_'

'_So just tell them, they're going to find out tomorrow with the paper anyway._'

She disregarded both Jinx and Beast Boy, choosing to instead take a sip of her tea and feign deafness.

"I bet it's a certain changeling," Jinx prodded. "What do you think Star?"

"I hope he appreciates our choices in clothes for Raven as well."

Jinx laughed, "I think he'd appreciate her no matter what she was wearing."

"I'm right here, you know," Raven said, a bit annoyed.

"Yes dear, but you didn't seem like you wanted to ans-"

"What's up guys!" Beast Boy shouted, interrupting Jinx, whose turn it was to display a Raven-esque scowl.

"We were discussing Raven's plans for the evening."

When Beast Boy made his way into the room and saw Raven, his brain nearly evacuated his head. "Wow... Rae..."

"Quit drooling." Jinx said with a grin.

Raven had picked out exactly what had been laid out for her by Starfire, she hadn't changed any part of it. She wore a lilac colored form-fitting t-shirt which said "Titans" on it, and had black angel wings on the back. She wore black skinny jeans which showed off her figure very well. To accompany her outfit, she wore black converse high tops and had a small charm bracelet on.

She was staring at her boyfriend with her signature deadpan look. She could feel Jinx's eyes burning into the side of her face. Beast Boy was wearing a plain old green t-shirt and some faded blue jeans. Though it was apparent they shared the same taste in shoes. Though he was also wearing something she hadn't seen before, dogtags, though she couldn't read what was on them.

He saw three pairs of eyes on him and scratched the back of his neck, '_Can I tell them_?'

_'Whatever,_' was all he got back.

"Jinx, Star? Can you two do me a favor?'' he asked.

"Sure friend!"

"Can you let Rob and tin-head know I'm taking Raven out to Panucci's?"

Jinx and Starfire removed their eyes from him and glared jealously at Raven. "Isn't impossible to get reservations there?"

"Yeah, supposedly. Just let them know we'll be busy for awhile, lets go Rae, we don't want to be late." He held out his hand, waiting for his girlfriend to get up.

'_I'm surprised at how smooth you are. You saved me the stress of Robin finding out and making them jealous at the same time. Robin and Cy won't hear the end of this_.' She smirked and took his hand.

_'Only for you, babe.'_

They quickly walked out of the room, "So, where were you? Why two hours?" she asked.

"You'll see."

"I hate surprises," Raven complained.

''Not true, every girl loves surprises."

Raven and her beau walked down the hallway, hand in hand. He led her into the elevator, pressing the garage button. They rode the floors down, Raven sneaking glances at him. "So why are we going to the garage?"

"You're not a patient one, are you?" he asked, grinning.

"I want to know, can you blame me? It takes me a bit to get ready, but you just needed to throw on some clothes and you were set."

The doors opened and Raven laid eyes on a new car that was sitting in the garage, next to the T-car. It was a brand new V8 Mustang. It's color was one that could only be called "gunmetal gray", and had black rims that made the car look more sinister. It had the famous double stripe going over the hood and across the top, in a deep black.

"Like it?" Beast Boy asked, holding the keys in his hand now.

"Wow. So you went out and rented a car?" she was walking over to it, getting a better look, walking around it.

"Well, no… I bought it."

"Why?"

"Well, I can't keep asking chrome-dome to let me borrow the T-car and it'll be a cold day in hell when Robin lets me take the R-cycle. So I figured it was time for some wheels."

"Didn't you want a moped?" she asked, enjoying his car. It actually kind of went along with the persona she had seen him develop over the past couple days.

"Yeah, but I can't ride around on that. People will laugh, not only that, but getting you onto a moped would spell my doom."

"True."

"So… do you like it?"

"Yeah, I love cars, ever since Cyborg got me to help him work on the T-car - though I don't like driving."

"Well, that's fine. Because I don't think you can drive manual."

"You got it in manual?"

"Is there any other way to get a sports car?"

"Touché." She said.

"Let's go, it's getting late." He opened the passenger door for her and waited.

"What a gentleman," she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled, slipping into her seat. The inside of the car was just as nice as the outside. Black leather was on the chairs, which were extremely comfortable. A light chrome finish on all of the instruments and dashboard stood out and made the car feel fancy. In the time Raven had been enjoying the interior of the car, Beast Boy had gotten in on the driver side and had put the car into neutral.

He put his foot on the clutch and the brake, while turning the key. The deep rumble of the 5.0 liter V8 sent shivers up both of their spines. Who didn't enjoy a good sounding car? They both turned to each other and smiled, though they had different things on their minds. Beast Boy was happy with his car choice and how 'badass' it was, while Raven was happy that he was trying his best to impress her and that he had gone to such lengths to make her feel comfortable.

He slid the car into first gear and started off out of the tunnel leading to the main roads, the engine emitting what sounded like Beast Boy when he was in the form of a lion. The drive over was uneventful. Beast Boy enjoyed the new car and masterfully drove in manual, though Raven had never seen him learn. Raven sat in comfortable silence, excited about getting to Panucci's.

_**»§«**_

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ arrived at Panucci's and Beast Boy stopped in front of the valet parking. The valet opened the door for Raven and helped her out, as Beast Boy got out and tossed the keys to him.

Raven waited for Beast Boy, and they walked towards the entrance together. Panucci's Italiano was a big and beautiful restaurant that stuck out amongst the buildings in Jump City. It was a pale white color with hand carved statues. The walls were glowing from the lawn lights, showing the contrast from the orange tiled roof. He held the door for her and they made their way inside. Beast Boy walked up to the podium and coughed, trying to get the man's attention.

"Yes?" came a very uptight voice. It was the maître d'hôtel. He was an older man, in his early fifties. His gray beard trimmed and his blue eyes twinkled as he recognized who was in front of him. "Oh! Mr. Logan, how nice it is to see you again! We have your table ready. Who is this beautiful young lady?

"Good to see you too, Tommy. This is Raven, my girlfriend."

"Well, Mr. Logan, you are a very lucky man." He was grabbing menus and was going to personally show them to their table. "Please, follow me."

Beast Boy looked to Raven and smiled, "Ladies first."

She returned his smile and walked after Tommy. She followed the man to the back of the restaurant. The inside of the building was as stunning as the outside. The walls were made of a white brick, and arches stretched between the rooms. It was dimly lit, and quiet smooth jazz was playing in the background. The table that they were being sat down at, was meant for two people, and was away from the rest of the restaurant.

Tommy moved to pull the chair out for Raven, but Beast Boy beat him to it. The table was covered in a white table cloth which had an intricate design so soft it looked as though it was painted on. The chair, which Beast Boy had pulled out for her, was a rich mahogany with designs masterfully carved into the side.

Raven took a seat, happily anticipating sharing her meal with him. Tommy handed them menus and took his leave, as Beast Boy took his seat. Both Titans were sitting in comfortable silence, choosing what they wanted to eat.

"Well, I know what I want. They make awesome Ravioli." he said, putting down his menu.

"I do too," Raven began, "So how do you know Tommy?"

"I met him when I first got here to Jump."

"Did he help you?"

"Well, I actually helped him, he was homeless. I gave him what I had on me after we had talked for awhile. After a year I saw him when we were out after you captured Dr. light. He had turned his life around, got married and took me out to dinner as thanks. He of course tried to pay me back, but I told him to keep it."

"Wow, I never knew," Raven had been leaning forward, interested in his story.

"Yeah, sly guy got me back though. Keeps paying for my meal when I come here," he said with a grin.

"So, not to change the subject..." she began.

"No, please, go ahead," Beast Boy sat forward.

"I wanted to share something, with you." Raven wanted to tell him her real name. Something no one except her mother and Azar knew. She knew Beast Boy's only because he had let it slip before. "I wanted to te-"

A scream rang out from the front of the restaurant, followed by a voice the two Titans knew only too well.

"Where?" Slade said calmly, but with an edge on his tone.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Tommy attempted to reason.

Raven looked over at Beast Boy, he was gritting his teeth. The fork he was holding was bent. He raised himself up, "Stay here," he said without turning around.

He made his way through the maze of tables. This was his date, and there were a lot of innocent people here. He had to get Slade away from the restaurant.

"Looking for me?" he said loudly.

"Ah, Yes. Now where is your girlfriend?" Cockiness laced into Slade's words.

"Not here, you get to fight me."

"Well as much as I love your enthusiasm - it reminds me of when Robin was my apprentice," Slade walked forward, "I'm not here to fight."

The atmosphere around the restaurant had changed. It was silent, even the jazz music was absent.

"You're always up for a fight." Beast Boy said, adopting a fighting stance. Looking for an opening. Slade's stance was casual, not even defensive.

"I'm not here to fight, although, if you insist. Come."

Beast Boy knew he couldn't take him on his own. Slade was good, very good. Though Beast Boy needed to get him away from the restaurant, and Raven. He charged at Slade, in human form, intending on hand to hand. Transforming inside would cause more problems than it would be worth.

Slade hadn't moved when Beast Boy threw a nasty right hook. It connected with the left side of Slade's mask, a metallic ringing echoing out. Slade didn't budge.

"Is that all? At least make this worth my time before I kill you and your girlfriend."

"You won't lay a finger on her," he growled.

Raven had listened to Beast Boy and stayed at the table, though she was worried that he would get hurt. She couldn't stand doing nothing. _'Let me help,'_ she sent to him.

_'No, something is wrong. He's way more powerful than before.'_

Slade chuckled to himself, ''Enough." He raised his hand, aiming at Beast Boy. Red runes appeared on his arm and visible energy began to flow over him.

"Beast Boy! Watch out!" Raven shouted. She recognized the runes, she had seen them before. Trigon's calling card. Beast Boy didn't listen and charged at Slade again.

Slade grinned under his mask. He shot at the green Titan. A fiery torrent laced with demonic energy hit the changeling square in the chest.

Beast Boy was ignited as the demonic energy stretched over his body as though he had been electrocuted. He was shot back against the wall, creating an impact dent and falling to a table which crashed to the floor. His uniform was in tatters, singed and smoldering. He hadn't screamed in pain, due to when he was hit, his nervous system overloaded and he was knocked out.

Raven, however, had screamed. Fear struck her, she couldn't sense Beast Boy. She had gotten up and ran towards his crumpled form.

"Raven, so good of you to join us..." Slade said, still not moving.

"What do you want?" she asked, clenching her fists. She had to buy some time. She had to calm down to use her powers more effectively. With Beast Boy down, it seemed as though she wasn't able to siphon off the energy to his unconscious form.

"I merely want to talk to you," he responded.

"Why?"

"To ask you to join me."

"You know I would never join you."

"I was afraid you would say that." Slade raised his hand, runes lining his arm again.

Raven didn't think twice, she had calmed down enough to regain some control. She knew her shield wouldn't hold, and most of the citizens had run away after Beast Boy had engaged Slade. She enveloped them in her energy, and they disappeared into the floor.

Slade chuckled as the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ disappeared, "One down."

_**»§«**_

A/N: So. 5 chapters in! I've been really busy, had 4 tests in the past 2 weeks so I've been writing and studying at the same time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm currently working on chapter 6. I'm still on schedule for a release each Saturday!

_Next time in The Demon Within: Is Beast Boy alright? What did Slade mean by 'One down'? The story is revving up. Stay tuned for Chapter 6 next time!_


	6. Chapter 6: Revenge and Reconciliation

_**A/N: Sorry it's late on Saturday! I've been busy with midterms. I'll be able to get more out in the next couple weeks, check back for mid-week releases too! **_

_**Disclaimer: **__**As much as I want to, I do not own the Teen Titans, or any DC comic characters.**_

_**Chapter 5: Revenge and Reconciliation**_

_**»§«**_

_The scientists and the rest of the Titans were lounging in the common room. Cyborg, Mike, and Mark were discussing the probability of installing a convertor in the Tower, as we as teleportation. Robin was talking with Josh and Tyler, they were interested in learning about the Tower, and Robin, in Cyborg's stead, was explaining. Chris, Starfire, and Jinx were sitting around gossiping about Raven and Beast Boy, and their new relationship. _

_A giant black bird arose from the floor, stopping all conversations in their tracks. It disappeared, revealing Raven and Beast Boy. Raven looked alright, aside from the fact she was crying – something none of the team had seen before. Beast Boy on the other hand, at first glance looked dead. _

_"Cyborg, get him to the med lab, now!" Robin took charge. He was shocked and confused, but his team came first._

_"On it," Cyborg ran over to Beast Boy and Raven, and pulled her off of him. Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy, carefully cradling him, and rushed out of the room._

_Jinx, Starfire, and Chris all ran after him._

_"If any of you have any medical training, go help Cyborg." Robin dictated to the remaining scientists._

_"We don't, but we'll go see what we can do to help," Mark, Josh, Tyler, and Mike all ran out of the room._

_All that was left now were Raven and Robin. He was worried about her, but he didn't have any idea what was going on. Unlike the rest of the team, Robin only had a small idea that Raven had a crush on Beast Boy. He was out of the loop again, just like with Starfire. "Raven, what happened?" He moved over to her and knelt down. She was still on the floor crying._

_"H-he a-almo-most killed Gar!" she cried._

_"Who? Who did this?" _

_"S-Slade!" And with that, Raven disappeared into the floor._

_Robin tried to stop her, but it was to no avail, when Raven didn't want to be around people, no one could stop her. "Slade…" Robin repeated… He knew Slade was after the Titans, and knew that he was working with the Brotherhood, but how did Slade do this to Beast Boy? He looked burnt, and broken. Slade was a master with weapons and Robin knew he could beat Beast Boy in a one on one fight in hand to hand combat, though something was odd here._

_**»§«**_

_"Anything we can do to help Cyborg?" Chris asked._

_"No." was all Cyborg could respond as he rushed around the med lab. Everyone knew enough to stay out of his way or they'd be knocked over. Cyborg was helping his best friend. Nothing was going to stop him from doing everything within his power to help his green buddy._

_Everyone in the room was tense. The scientists were in the corner talking amongst themselves, while Starfire and Jinx stood by Beast Boy's bed._

_"Where's Raven? I need to know what happened to him, he's crashing." Cyborg was panicking, and with Beast Boy's current condition, he didn't have much time left._

_"Robin stayed behind when we left, I assume he was going to question her." Jinx said._

_"I'll go look for her," Chris offered._

_"Fifth floor, her room is labeled," Cyborg said._

_Chris nodded, and ran out of the room, pausing to let Robin past as he entered._

_"How is he?" Robin got straight to the point._

_"Not good, what happened to him?"_

_"Slade."_

_"How?"_

_"I tried to find out, but Raven disappeared. I looked for a few minutes and couldn't find her," he sighed, crossed his arms and walked over to Beast Boy._

_"We have to try and at least stabilize him..." Cyborg began attempting to treat the burns, as the scanner loomed over Beast Boy's unconscious form._

**»§«**

_Raven rose out of the indigo sheets on her bed, weeping. She had remained out of phase until she was sure Robin would stop looking for her. In her mind, Beast Boy had been killed in front of her. Raven's powers, which could no longer be siphoned, were beginning to cause problems. Everything in her room, and much of the hallway was floating, encased in her dark energy._

_Chris entered the fifth floor, and instantly knew he was in the right area. "Now to just find her room..." he walked down the hallway. _

_"Raven?" The hallway was eerily quiet. Pictures, tables and rugs were floating slowly around the empty space. He made it to her room and knocked, "Raven are you there? Can I come in?"_

There was no reply. Chris took the silence as though she may not be there and decided to ooicheck for her. He had grown up snooping, and wasn't about to stop when one of the Titan's lives was in danger. Her door was covered in her dark energy. Though when he grabbed the door and began to pry it open, it slowly began to budge.

"Raven?" he could hear her lightly crying now that the door was slightly open. "I just came to talk."

"Go away."

Chris pried the door completely open. The scene inside was comparable to the aftermath of a hurricane. Raven was on her bed, facing the window, which was blown out. Her back was to Chris. The room was in tattered ruins, books, chairs, and random artifacts were floating around distractingly.

"Raven, I know you don't know me that well, but I'm here to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about. Beast Boy is dead, and it's my fault." She still hadn't turned around, though she seemed to be calming down, as several items in the room slowly settled on the floor.

"He isn't dead. Cyborg is just trying to stabilize him now. But if we don't do someone or know what happened, he might. I know what he means to you, and right now, he needs you," Chris reasoned.

"W-what?" Raven turned around, mouth hanging open.

"He's not dead. You really think he'd give up fighting for his life while you're here?"

"No… he wouldn't," almost everything in the room was now on the ground, back, more or less, in its original position.

"So, can you tell me what happened?"

"Well… we were… out on a…"

"A date, we know."

"You guys know? Robin doesn't know does he?"

"I'm sure after the way you arrived; he's privy to your relationship, is that bad?" Chris asked.

"I don't know how he will react. Robin tends to forget what people want and just tends to do for the team."

"Well, I'm sure there's no problem. He's dating Starfire, is he not?"

"Yes."

"Well there you go. Now what happened on your date?"

"Everything was amazing… until Slade showed up…" Raven said, wrapping her cloak around herself whilst fighting back the tears.

"Slade was there? He's the big baddie you guys have here in Jump, right?"

"Yes, he's always been pretty much our Arch-villain," Raven explained.

"Ok, so what did he do to Beast Boy?"

"Usually Slade only uses weapons, or hand to hand, so Beast Boy attempted to fight him that way in order to keep the civilians safe. When he charged in, Slade fired a torrent of flames at him."

Raven could have told Chris about the demonic energy she saw and the influence she had seen over Slade by Trigon, but she figured she would save that for her team, and not some scientist she barely knew.

"Can you help him? I know you have some healing powers."

"How do you know that?" Raven angrily replied, she hadn't told anyone except her teammates about the majority of her abilities.

"Cyborg's father mentioned it to me, as well as your ability to teleport. I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, but I'd really like to see Beast Boy get better."

Raven's face softened, she shouldn't have jumped down his throat, of course he knew. Cyborg talked to his father on more than one occasion, and teammates with abilities must have come up. "I'm sorry for that reply; I'm just worried about Beast Boy."

"Of course, it's no problem. Can you take us to the med lab?" Chris had walked forward and was extending his hand.

Raven nodded, taking it and dropping the two through the floor.

_**»§«**_

Raven and Chris appeared near the doorway to the med lab. He nodded to her, and she opened the door and walked in.

"Where have you been, Raven?" Robin demanded, walking forward. Chris however put himself in-between the two.

"Robin, you can't tell me that you wouldn't be that upset if something happened to Starfire."

Raven lowered her head, pulling her hood up with her powers. Robin was taken a back at being talked to as such by a guest in the Tower, but Chris was right regardless.

"I'm sorry, Raven. Can you help him? He needs to be stabilized."

"Of course…" Raven walked around Chris, over to where Beast Boy's form was crumpled on the table, broken, burned and beaten.

She had never told anyone, not even Beast Boy, that when she healed someone, the pain they suffered was transferred to her as the wound was healed. She wouldn't tell anyone. Keeping that small secret from her team meant that they wouldn't shy away from asking for help. If they knew she would suffer, they would never ask her to do it.

Raven looked over Beast Boy's form. The burns and broken bones, could be healed. She didn't know what kind of damage had been done to the inside of him.

"This might take a while. Do not stop me no matter what happens," she said in her gravely monotone.

Everyone nodded, though Chris, Jinx, and Starfire moved closer to give support. Raven raised her hands over Beast Boy's form and closed her eyes. When her eyes reopened a minute later, they were glowing white. Her hands were enveloped in a faint blue light, as she deftly maneuvered them over his body.

"There's not much more we can do now," Cyborg said.

"Beast Boy is badly injured. It'll take a while for her to make any major changes. I suggest we go forward with the plan. Both of them will be out of business," Robin said.

"Works for us," said Mark, "We'll need to discuss what you want us to do with the converter with Cyborg."

"I'll be around in a bit, gotta keep an eye on him to make sure he stabilizes," Cyborg moved over to the console and began to type in some commands, "I'll keep an eye on him while Raven works her magic and join you in a bit."

"Right," was all Robin said, as he left the room. He wanted more answers but knew better than to disturb Raven. He walked out of the room and stopped, holding his arm out in front of Chris, "What happened? where was she?"

Chris was a bit puzzled. He knew Robin liked to keep a tight leash on his teammates well-being, but was this really the time? "She was in her room, and all she told me was that Slade used some fiery torrent instead of his typical weaponry."

"She said nothing else?"

"Aside from thinking Beast Boy was dead? No. Also, I know this isn't my place to say this, but go easy on her." Chris then walked away from Robin, heading to rejoin the group.

'This is very bad,' Robin thought, 'If Slade is going for kills, we're in trouble.'

Robin had no idea what Slade's end game was. The problem so far is lack of knowledge. Usually someone on the bad guy's team messed up by now. This was bad, really bad. Robin knew what had to be done. As much as he was going to hate himself for it later.

Robin, instead of heading towards the common room to join the scientists and his team, and headed towards his study. He arrived there and entered the code, the door again opening. He walked in and sat down at his desk.

He pushed a few buttons and encrypted his signal. Robin sighed and pushed the enter key.

"I need your help," Robin said to the blank screen.

"I figured. Is the changeling alright?"

"Hopefully, Raven is attempting to heal him."

"So why do you need my help?"

"Bruce, Slade is more powerful. He nearly killed Beast Boy in one shot."

The Dark Knight could be heard sighing, "Deathstroke is making his move."

Robin waited a moment, "We both know neither of us wants to work together, but..."

"I've never stopped being your guardian, even if you wanted me to. I'll be there soon," with that the line clicked.

Robin sat back in his chair, 'Shit.'

**»§«**

'Beast Boy...'

Raven had been attempting to heal Beast Boy as much as possible. She was feeling the effects of healing his wounds. She was light headed, with each burn, or cut healed she felt as though she was being cut or burned.

She had trouble standing up. Cyborg had noticed and moved a chair behind her. He had his suspicions about her and her healing powers, but he kept his mouth shut. Her abilities were too helpful to pass up, and he knew that if something was hurting her, she would say so.

He looked up one last time at the monitor. Nothing had changed, Beast Boy's aesthetic appearance was much better. However, his vitals were still low and dangerously close to crashing. He quickly moved the data from his monitor to his 3D display model on his arm and went to leave the room. Raven would contact him if something happened, and while Beast Boy was hooked up, Cyborg would know if he needed help as the alarms on his arm would go off.

He left the room, headed in the direction of the common room. He wondered what Robin's plan was to catch Mallah. He knew they were obviously using bait (the converter), but how exactly were they going to contain him? Cyborg then heard some mumbling, which sounded like soft cursing.

"Damn, damn, damn..." Robin mumbled as he, like Cyborg, headed towards the common room.

"What's wrong, Rob?"

"Had to do something I didn't want to do."

"Ahh..."

The two walked in silence to the common room. As they reached the door, it whooshed open, revealing a completely silent common room. The many people inside wore different expressions. The members of the Titans were afraid for Beast Boy but knew Raven wouldn't give up.

Robin and Cyborg walked to the center of the common room.

"Beast Boy will be ok, but the more time we spend sitting around, the more time Slade has to gather his parts." Robin walked over to the PC and typed in a few commands, "We're ready for him. Thanks for the favor."

"Anytime, Robin. Watchtower out."

The monitor went blank and the PC idled again. The light in the room seemed to dim, even though all the lights were still on. Bright lines that looked like light refracted through crystals appeared in the center of the room. The light began to take form, a long flowing cape, and a cowl with two pointed ears on the top. The light turned black and gave color to the figure.

The Dark Knight appeared before the now shocked scientists and the remaining Titans. He stood stoically, staring over them.

"Good to see you again, Robin," Batman said in his low signature voice.

"You know why I asked you to come here?" Robin said changing the subject, and ignoring Batman's greeting.

"Deathstroke is active," Batman said, still not moving.

"He's always been active. We've just been able to handle him," Robin replied.

Batman knew that Slade had come to the west coast, but didn't know that Robin had known it was Deathstroke. "You're sure he's been active?"

"We've fought him on multiple occasions. We've had some close calls, but nothing dangerous."

"Slade's a pushover when it comes to us as a team," Cyborg added.

"It is very nice to meet you, trainer of Robin's!" Starfire beamed happily as she floated near Batman.

"Hello Princess Starfire," responded Batman. He wasn't a people person, but he was trying.

"Let's save everyone the trouble. You already know who everyone is," started Robin, "We have a big problem on our hands."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No."

"He moves around a lot, and he's good at covering his tracks," Cyborg added.

"Who exactly are we talking about?" Mike asked.

"Well, Dr. Devine. You've got a price on your head, which was placed by Slade." Batman said calmly.

Everyone in the room fell silent. The Titans were worried about the scientists, but Robin knew they would be safe here with all these superheroes around. The problem was continuing their mission to trap Mallah, while keeping the scientists safe.

"We have their converter here, though we don't know what Slade plans to do with it. We are going to attempt to use it to lure out Monsieur Mallah."

"And you are planning on capturing him?" The Dark Knight inquired.

"Yes. That's the idea. I was going to discuss the plan here if you'd like to hear it."

Batman merely nodded, and didn't move. Everyone in the room was staring intently at Robin now.

"So, the plan consists of you guys," Robin indicated the scientists, "adding an EMP and some tracking devices onto the converter. It would take too long to build a fake and Mallah isn't dumb, he would spot a fake instantly. Once you've added these attachments to the converter, the team, which would have been us six Titans-"

"Six?" Batman and the scientists asked.

"Yes, Jinx joined recently. She's been extremely helpful in getting the information for our plan."

The scientists looked uneasy, working with a villain. However, the remaining Titans (aside from Jinx) looked neutral, more focused on Robin. The Titan's trusted Robin's judgment, even though sometimes it may have been a bit crazed.

"As I was saying," Robin looked agitated as he continued, "The original plan included six Titans, and as you can tell, Raven and Beast Boy will be out of commission. Raven could help, but I feel as though she'd be a liability with her _distress_ over Beast Boy, I'd also rather she stay here and get Beast Boy in fighting condition as soon as possible."

"I have an idea if you'd care to hear it Robin," Mark spoke up, and Robin nodded, "Well, I've created trackers that are within nanites."

"Nanite trackers?" Jinx said.

"Yes, they're very, very tiny robots that can live within your body. The ones I've developed last about ten hours, but are accurate to within a meter."

"So, how would we use those? Our communicators have trackers and we always have them," Robin added.

"Well, I have a couple friends in the military who are expert marksmen. The nanites can be added to a dart and used to track anyone you feel necessary."

"You could tag anyone and follow them. I've been developing some myself," Batman started, "It's a good idea. If we aren't able to capture Mallah, we could at least track him or his allies."

"Can you get them up and running soon, Mark?" Cyborg asked.

"With your help? Yes, easily."

"Both of you go now and get that working," Robin dictated. "Tyler, Josh, Mike, and Chris, you four are going to need to attach the EMP and the tracker. Cyborg brought it all to the Ops room. We need that done as soon as possible."

"What about us Robin?" Starfire asked, indicating herself and Jinx.

"I need you two to rest before this. Being down Beast Boy and Raven is going to hurt us. Feel free to help anyone if you can, but just take it easy. We'll meet back here when everyone is done. I'll let you know on our communicators."

Everyone nodded and left, going about their required jobs. Cyborg and Mark headed to his room to get some tools to work on the nanites, while Jinx, Starfire and the remaining scientists walked towards the elevator to head to the Ops room. That left Batman and Robin in the room alone.

"I asked you here for help. In any way you can," Robin said, his back towards the Dark Knight, "These are my friends, Bruce. I might seem like a jerk, but I do it to protect them. I refuse to put them in danger."

"Beast Boy getting injured wasn't your fault."

"I should have known where they were, I might have been able to help. We didn't even get an alarm."

"As I said, it wasn't your fault. All you can do now is hope he recovers and find Slade in the meantime."

"Revenge."

"A powerful tool, but also dangerous. Don't let it go to your head."

"Slade's been after my team for years. I don't want him able to do it again. If it saves my team, I'll kill him myself."

**»§«**

The wounds were severe. If she couldn't get more energy, he would die. Raven didn't know what she would do if she lost him. She was running out of energy, and she dare not take the energy stored within Beast Boy.

'You know what must be done, Raven.'

'I don't think he'll survive the trip.'

'Even then, he won't survive much longer, as-is. Heal what you can and then bring him to us. '

'Alright, Knowledge.'

'Don't worry, just keep your emotions in check, or you'll hurt yourself as well as him,' she warned.

'Easier said than done.'

Raven was feeling horribly weak. Her knees were getting close to giving out. Her breathing was labored, any longer and she was going to pass out. If she fell unconcious then Beast Boy would die. She wasn't able to stop most of the internal bleeding, he was slowly dying.

Knowledge had a good point though. If Raven brought Beast Boy to her mind, all of the emotions could directly help heal him. Their abilities weren't limited in her mind, they could let go without risk to the outside world. The only problem now, was how to get him inside.

'Just bring the mirror and drop him in, We'll catch him,' Brave said.

'Ugh...' Raven didn't want to just toss him in and hope her emoticlones caught him, but there really was no other option. She moved her hands away from his chest as the blue energy ebbed away. She took one last look at his crippled form and turned to run and grab her mirror.

**»§«**

Beast Boy stood on a solid green, circular platform that was floating amongst nothing.

"So, where am I?"

''You're in a coma, and slowly dying," the voice answered.

"Wha -What do you mean I'm in a coma?"

"You attacked Slade, and injured us."

It was then that Beast Boy recognized the voice, "Oh great..."

"Yes," The Beast appeared before Beast Boy on the platform.

"Beast..."

"Indeed. I'm here to tell you to quit being so brash. You're going to get us killed, and Raven as well."

"Since when have you become so well spoken?"

"Ever since you and Raven connected. I'm able to draw from her emotions."

"So you're not as feral anymore?"

"You could say that. I'm still the Beast. Just more in control. I'm here when you need me now, as opposed to when I deemed necessary."

"I see..."

"Raven is attempting to heal you, though I doubt she will be able to."

"What do you mean?"

"Your internal injuries are beyond repair. If she expels the energy to heal you, she will die."

"She can't do that!"

"I know. I let her emotions know and we came up with a possible solution."

Beast Boy and the Beast stood looking at each other. He hadn't taken the time to look over the Beast. He had seen the footage of him attacking his fellow teammates, and the Beast who was before him, was not the Beast he had seen. He had the same appearance, a mish-mash of powerful creatures, but the Beast's facial expression was civil, almost gentle. His posture had also changed, he was now standing straight with his arms crossed behind his back.

"You can talk to her emotions?"

"Yes, and hers, with yours."

"Mine?"

"You do feel emotions, don't you?" The Beast asked sarcastically.

"Well, duh," Beast Boy started, crossing his arms and feigning being hurt, "but I didn't think I could make them into corporeal beings."

"That a big word for you."

"I heard Raven use it once."

"Yes, well, either way, when you aren't in a coma, you should be able to talk to them."

"Alright, and what about this plan to keep me from dying?''

The Beast stared at him before finally saying, "You're going to Nevermore."

**»§«**

Raven rushed full-speed to her room. She entered her code, lacking the energy to phase through her bedroom door. The door slid open, and she fumbled and tripped over her rug, making her way to her vanity. She had no idea why she had one. She never spent time in front of it. Perhaps she had just liked the dark purple wood.

She ran up to it and quickly found her mirror. It was different looking than most mirrors. It was a steel-gray color with a ruby embedded in it, much like Raven's chakra gem. She didn't like it, but it was a way into her mind, which she needed,

'I hope this works,' she said towards her emotions.

'It will. He knows his coming.'

Raven stopped moving, 'What do you mean he knows? Is he awake?'

She mustered what strength she had left and began to jog back to the med lab.

'No,' said Knowledge, 'but Wisdom and I have been able to contact one of his emotions.'

Raven had no idea how, but that wasn't a big problem right now. She needed to focus on saving him. She could worry about about details later. She continued full speed down the hallway and into the med room. Beast Boy lay just as she had left him. She walked over to him and took his hand in hers.

'Ready?' She asked.

'Yes,' said five or so copies of her voice.

Raven looked into the mirror, and said her mantra. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The claw that usually grasped her and pulled her inside, this time, was gentle. Everything went dark, then refilled with color. She and Beast Boy were being supported on a rock that was enveloped in dark energy. Raven looked around and noticed her colored copies floating around it, all with arms outstretched.

"Nice catch," was all Raven could manage.

The copies grinned as they lowered the Chromatically Challenged Couple - - down to the ground. Raven recognized where they were, Affection's realm. It had changed a lot since she had last been there. The plains and hills were now covered in many flowers, all different types. Though the tree of emotion was still the tallest object in Affection's realm.

The Tree of Emotion had become a beautifully multicolored tree, closely resembling a rainbow. Once they had been set down, Most of the emotions began to work on healing Beast Boy's wounds. However, while staring at the tree, Affection made her way over to Ravens side.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, very. I never thought I would see something such as this within my own mind."

"I did" Affection said, walking forward to the tree, "Come with me for a minute. They won't stop until he is healed, you can relax."

Raven nodded, looking back over her shoulder at him. "Whatsup?" She asked Affection.

Affection leaned over and spoke into her ear, "I knew you had it in you." Before Raven could react, She was locked in an almost Starfire-Esque death hug.

"Glad... you're... happy..." Raven managed through multiple breaths.

"I am, and so are you."

Raven blushed, she hadn't had a lot of time to think about it, but she was genuinely happy. "I am, but I don't want to show it to many people aside from Beast Boy."

"Understandable, you haven't been able to feel these emotions freely before, and now you can, it's only natural that you only want to share it with those closest to you,"Affection walked up to the Tree of Emotion, "So, since you are able to express us more, the tree is able to flourish."

"So which emotions, besides you, are being used most?"Raven asked, Walking towards the tree and putting her hand on it.

"Bravery, timid, happy and one final one."

"Who? Fear?"

"Lust."

"Oh no..."

"Yes, we didn't let her know you were coming. Though as one of your emotions, I bet she knows and is on the way."

"Raven?"

She turned around, not recognizing the voice.

"It is good to see you well."

"The Beast...? In my mind?"

"Yes, though I am not here to cause problems, as yon may be inclined to assume."

Knowledge traded places with Affection, who took over healing. She staggered to her feet, walking slowly over to Raven and The Beast. ''He's one of Beast Boy's emotions, possibly the most powerful."

"I'm here just to say a couple things. Beast Boy sent me to tell you to not stress yourself, and I came to tell you to be careful around Slade. The demonic energy which struck him would have killed him instantly if you two hadn't been linked. I was able to fix most of the mental damage, and Knowledge here, helped me with the rest."

"He was very close to being brain dead. Did you tell anyone that Slade has been empowered by Trigon?" Knowledge asked, regaining her energy.

"No."

"You're going to have to as soon as we get Beast Boy back to one-hundred percent."

"How is he doing?" Raven asked, a small frown plaguing her face.

"Much better," The Beast answered.

Raven walked past both of them and kneeled down near his head. She carefully lifted his head and laid it across her legs. Affection smiled and continued healing, as did Bravery, Timid, Rude, a's surprise, Rage.

**»§«**

Everyone, with the exception of Mark and Cyborg was in the Ops room, which was one of the few very professional rooms in the tower. It had pitch black walls and blindingly white tile floors. A giant table sat in the middle of the room, it's chairs bolted equidistantly apart. Off to the left side of the room had a giant monitor with one leather computer chair and a keyboard that had a direct interface for Cyborg.

"So, the plan is that we have over to the predesignated warehouse, and have Jinx meet with Mallah," Robin began.

The scientists had finished adapting the EMP and tracker to the converter. It was ready to go, although everyone knew that if someone went over it, they could easily find the tracker.

Cyborg and Mark busted through the door, obviously excited about something. "Rob, you're going to love this."

"Whats up?"

"We were able to complete the nanite-tracker. Though you'll only have one shot. We can make more, but it will take time."

"One shot?"

"Yes, we were able to put the nanites in a dart that can be shot."

Robin narrowed his eyes, ''Do you have a device to shoot it?"

"No," answered Mark and Cyborg in unison, "But we have someone who does."

"Who?"

"Just a friend who can afford a short time to take a shot for you."

"Again, who?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"So he's military. Is he almost here? We're almost ready to go."

"He'll meet us there."

"Good."

"Where's Bats?" Cyborg asked.

Jinx and Starfire were now moving the converter out of the room. Jinx was planning on cursing it to float, and also placing a curse of bad luck on it as a failsafe. If the enemies got a hold of it, then it could be destroyed by her curse along with the EMP.

"He's grabbing some gear."

"No, I'm here."

Robin nearly screamed, jumping a bit. He forgot how good the Dark Knight was at keeping silent. Everyone else in the room was quietly laughing, sensing Robin finally got a taste of his own medicine. Batman grinned.

"Right, So we should be set, right?" Robin said, regaining his composure.

Jinn and Starfire nodded as they left the room, followed by the scientists and Cyborg.

Batman remained and so did Robin. "Leave the scientists besides the one that worked with Cyborg, behind."

"I was just thinking that. I don't have time to babysit them."

"Have them remotely monitor the EMP and tracker."

"Right," Robin responded dryly. He had this plan already, and planned on having them monitor the situation, but he wasn't in the mood to argue with his mentor. Robin walked from the Ops room, and quickly caught up to Mike, Chris, Tyler and Josh.

"We know," they began before Robin could say anything, "we'll be in the common room, monitoring from there."

"Good, we'll stay in contact with you." Robin then pulled Chris aside, "keep an eye on Tower defenses, as well as Raven and Beast Boy."

"Will do. Are you expecting the tower to be attacked?"

Robin folded his arms, "With Slade, you can never be too careful."

"Right. I'll keep an eye on it."

The group met in the garage. Jinx was preparing to curse the converter, while the Titans and Mark got in the T-car. Batman did not meet with them though. He preferred to work alone, but knew the end goal and made his way by himself to the warehouse.

Robin shouted one last order, to meet a safe distance away from the warehouse. He then mounted his R-cycle and left the garage.

The Titans in the car were worried about Beast Boy and Raven. They hadn't seen them at all before they left, and Cyborg, though he was quietly following orders, was very worried when Beast Boy's monitor showed he was dead. He knew Raven would have called him if he had died, so she must have moved him.

Starfire was quietly frowning, upset at the situation. She knew that Raven would do everything within her power to save Beast Boy, though she still couldn't shake the feelings that something else was wrong - something that wasn't told to the group. Mark was oblivious to anything other than getting the job done. He was professional, and was concerned about the health of the team, but was more interested in doing his job to the best of of his ability. That was what Robin needed now.

It took the multiple teams less than ten minutes to get to the designated rendezvous spot. The spot was down the street from the warehouse, and happened to be in an almost pitch black area. The warehouse was an aquired location from a previous villain. It was beaten up and slightly derelict, but it was a good place to store things that theey didnt need at the Tower.

The warehouse reminded Robin of an abandoned building. It was a made of of a faded wood, almost almost a greenish-grey color. The windows were covered in a coat of dust, making making it look ominous from the outside. The lamps outside created the feel from an old 1950s private eye movie.

Robin, when he arrived at the designated spot, found a dark corner and parked his R-cycle. He made sure to park out of the lamplight and dismounted the bike. He took off his helmet and set it on the back. He turned around and looked towards the warehouse.

"You can come out, I know you're there," Robin said.

Batman had been hidden in the shadows. Anyone without training would never have heard or seen him, let alone know he was there.

"Are the other's almost here?"

"Yes," Robin responded, not bothering to turn around to where the Dark Knight was standing.

Robin and Batman stood awkwardly together for the next five minutes before the soft drone of an engine could be heard. Cyborg deftly drove the T-car in between the crates and parked close to where Robin had left his R-cycle.

Starfire and Cyborg hopped out of the car, followed by Mark.

"Is your friend here yet, Mark?" Robin asked.

"He should be, I'll be right back."

Mark turned and walked in the opposite direction, heading away from the warehouse. He was to meet his contact down the street. Mark hadn't seen him in over eight years. They had gone to school together, and when Mark went to college, his friend went and joined the military.

Walking down the street he remembered the last time he saw him. It was after a tour overseas, he had come back, and had some news for Mark and his family. They had kept in touch, Mark would send care packages, and would talk to him every once in a while.

"It's been a long time… Mark."

Mark chucked, "It sure has, Tim."

Tim was a tall man, muscular, but light on his feet. He looked tired, war does that to people. He was a Lieutenant in the Navy Seals. His specialty was long range takedowns and recon. Slung over his shoulder was a Barrett M107 Sniper rifle. It was an intimidating gun, and Cyborg and Mark had designed the dart to be fired from it.

"So, what do you need me to do?"

"Well, the Titans are using our converter as bait, and we need to tag a baddie."

"Any specific target?"

"I didn't ask, but I'd assume any of them trying to get away would do so we can track them, but remember, I only made the one."

"One shot, one kill. Though in this case, one shot, one tag." He took the dart from Mark and loaded it into his rifle.

"We'll be heading towards the warehouse, just set yourself up so you can keep an eye on it."

"Roger."

With that, Tim was gone. Mark headed back quickly to where the Titans were gathered.

"He's ready. He'll take the shot on someone who tries to retreat so we can follow them."

_**»§«**_

Jinx flew the converter to the door of the warehouse. Landing, she placed it down. She was told by Mallah, that she should wait there, and that he would come and retrieve it. She had been told to not be late, and she had actually arrived early.

Jinx had been assured by Robin, that he, Batman, Cyborg, and Starfire were watching over her and they would jump in if she needed it. She had no doubt they would, and had no doubt they could subdue Mallah with Batman here.

The whole plan was coming together. She was waiting on Mallah with the converter; the Titans and Batman were positioned to jump in, and the military guy, of whom Mark had told spoken about before she left, had to be around here somewhere.

The faint pounding could be heard. Jinx turned to see a giant ape and her old teammates walking towards her. Mallah had his laser rifle slung over his shoulder, his eyes and head swiveling around attempting to find an inconsistency. Gizmo and Mammoth tailed behind him on his left and right respectively.

"About time you did something useful," Gizmo shot at Jinx.

"Quiet, pint-sized," Jinx snapped, "I have your stupid converter. Titan's didn't know what hit them."

Mallah walked closer to Jinx, and looked down at the converter, "Good."

Jinx was nervous, she wasn't showing it, but she knew Mallah at this close range could smash her. He might not have super strength but he was still a massive ape. "Can I leave now?"

"You will return with us to base," Mallah commanded.

"Not that I wouldn't _love _to do that, but I have other places to rob," Jinx turned to leave.

"You _will_ return to the base."

Jinx was angry, "No, I will not. I did what you asked and now I'm going."

Jinx turned to leave, and was caught on the back of the head with a rifle butt. Mallah had whipped out his laser rifle and hit her, knocking her down to the floor. The Titan's sprang into action, Robin, Cyborg and Starfire made their moves.

Starfire shot star bolts at the trio trying to scatter them and dissuade them from taking Jinx. She chased after Mammoth who rampaged through the wall of the warehouse. "Give up now, villain, or I will have to hurt you!"

"You were just lucky last time," Mammoth taunted. Starfire's eyes glowed green and she flew full speed at him, crashing into him and knocking him across the floor and through the many crates. Starfire then flung twenty to thirty star bolts at where his body laid, intent on keeping him from getting up.

"Do not underestimate me, you will be sorely disappointed," Starfire said as the smoke cleared. She turned and left through the hole that was made, and she joined the fight against Mallah.

Robin went directly for Mallah. He pulled out his staff and began to twirl it with the masterful skill of a ninja. With his first strike, a side-ways blow, he was able to dislodge the laser rifle from Mallah's hand and turn the ape berserk with rage.

Cyborg had popped his sonic cannon out and shot a few shots at Gizmo while working his way over to Jinx. Upon reaching her, he saw the blood dripping from under her pink hair. He scooped her up and ran off for the T-car. He'd be able to scan her, and if the wound was serious, take her back to the tower in order to do what he could to heal her.

Getting back to the car, he scanned Jinx and deduced her skull was cracked. He needed to get her back to the Tower in order to try and keep her from bleeding out. He signaled Robin on his communicator, a red mark, indicating a Titan is down. He laid Jinx across the back seats, and then hopped in the driver seat and sped off.

Gizmo had heard the star bolts connect with Mammoth and knew he was out. His face began to contort in fear. He hadn't expected Jinx to align with the Titans and didn't expect a fight. He didn't care about the Brotherhood of Evil, or even his fellow H.I.V.E. members. He pressed a button and a jet pack popped from his backpack.

Right as Gizmo was about to rocket away, a small "pew" could be heard. Gizmo was taken off his feet and knocked to the ground with a small thud. He quickly got to his feet, unsure of what just happened and flew off.

Mallah was going crazy, he flailed at Robin, connecting on a swing with his right arm. Robin tumbled and rolled back, quickly recovering just in time to see Starfire get grabbed and smashed into the ground.

"Starfire!"

Robin recovered quickly, getting ready to move in. Suddenly, an explosion around Mallah caused him to fall to the ground. Batman swooped in and swiftly kicked him across the forehead, knocking him out. Batman then quietly began to pull out multiple pairs of handcuffs and was able to bind him to a lamp post.

Robin quickly made his way over to Starfire and pulled her into his lap. "Please be ok, Star..."

Starfire was bruised a bit, and most likely had a concussion,but other than that she looked alright.

"She'll be fine. You already know that."

Robin shot a look at Batman that was usually reserved for villains. "Don't you care at all?"

"You know I do, you also know I value the mission, and it appears it was only half successful."

Batman glanced backward over his shoulder to where the converter used to be. Apparently, as far as Batman and Robin could see, Mammoth or Gizmo had gotten away with the convertor while Mallah was rampaging.

"We need to find Mark, he has the ability to track it. Also if our man found his target we have a way to track them to their base." Robin picked up Starfire bridal style and began to to walk to walk towards his R-cycle when she began to stir.

"Ugh... Robin what happened?"

He set her down and she stared into his eyes, while rubbing her head.

"You got attacked by Mallah and knocked out. Don't worry though, everything is alright now."

Starfire nodded, seemingly alright. She looked past Robin and motioned behind him. Mark was running up, a smile pasted on his face.

"We did it!" Mark shouted.

"You tagged one?" Robin asked.

"Yes! Though I don't know who, Tim disappeared after he took the shot. He does that."

"You're currently tracking it?" Batman asked.

"Yes, the target is currently in the air, and the signal is strong."

"We lost the converter," Batman pointed out.

"We have the EMP and tracker on it just in case, but if we follow the signal we should be able to find both their hideout, and the converter. Hopefully we can get it back before we have to activate the EMP."

"Star, we have to get back to the tower. Cyborg signaled us during the fight, Jinx was injured."

"I'll meet you back there later," Batman said, using his batclaw to grapple away.

"Let us go, Robin," Starfire said, taking both Mark's and Robin's hand and hoisting them into the air. "I hope that friend Jinx is ok."

"I'm sure she is, Cyborg is looking after her," Robin said.

'Three of us are down now… What are you planning Slade?'


	7. Chapter 7: Nightmare

_**A/N:**__** I'm on spring break now and will try and churn out a couple more chapters before it's over! Hope everyone enjoys. Don't forget to R&R it helps a lot!**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own the Teen Titans, or any references within the story._

_**Chapter 7: Nightmare**_

"So, how is he doing?" Raven asked from her position on the ground, Beast Boy's head in her lap.

"Getting better, it won't be very long now," answered Knowledge, "though I think there might be someone you wish to talk to." She moved her eyes over to where the tree of emotion stood.

Raven followed her eyes and noticed two figures almost completely behind the tree. One was wearing a flowing deep violet cloak, which was similar to Affection's, but darker. Standing next to the cloak wearing figure was a familiar green teen.

Raven rushed over to the couple that was under the tree, "and just what do you think you're doing?" Raven asked, obviously a bit peeved.

"Relax honey, I wasn't going to steal him... for long."

"Wha... Raven?" Beast Boy now looked confused, he had dealt with Raven's emotions before, but apparently was confused and thought this figure was her.

Raven wasted no time pushing the dark cloaked girl away and embracing Beast Boy. "I'm glad that you're alright." She then pulled back and slapped him straight across the face.

"OW! What did I do?" He yelped, rubbing the side of his face, where a red handprint now shone.

Raven glare angrily at him. It was taking all her power to do this, as it would be hard to stay mad at him for long. "Next time I say 'don't', listen to me. You almost got yourself killed!"

Beast Boy looked down at the ground, hand still on his cheek. "I'm sorry... I was just so mad at him showing up, and I wasn't about to let him get to you."

"I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself, Beast Boy."

"Oh don't let her treat you that way, Beastie boo," the new Raven cooed.

She waltzed out from behind him, and draped an arm across his shoulders. "She's way too mean to you."

Beast Boy looked as though he was between a rock and a hard place. The deep violet colored Raven walked forward to Raven, "We haven't met before."

"No, I assume we haven't. Who are you?"

"Can't take a guess?" She teased playfully.

"I'd prefer not to guess," Raven answered.

She responded to Raven by planting a kiss on Beast Boy's cheek, "You can call me Lust."

"Oh Azar…"

"That's right Ravey, Beastie here is all mine," she said, drawing her finger over his chest.

Raven's eyes glowed white, and prepared to forcibly remove Lust from Beast Boy's side, when another voice rang out.

"Stay away from him!"

It was Rage. Apparently she didn't like Lust playing around with him. Her eyes had split and her teeth had sharpened. No one in their right mind would have gotten on Rage's bad side on purpose, aside from maybe Rude or Brave.

"And what are you going to do about it, cutie?" Lust said to Rage.

Rage leapt forward, intent on some damage, Lust easily side-stepped the anger-blinded emotion, sticking out her foot in the process. Rage tumbled to the ground, angrier than before. Before she could lunge again, she was quickly restrained by Brave.

"Dude, relax!" Brave shouted, straining to hold her back.

"He's mine! Don't forget that!" Rage bellowed at Lust.

Lust giggled. She loved watching Rage in a love fueled lust, it fed her. Though many of the bystanders were wondering why Rage was showing affection towards Beast Boy, maybe she figured she owned him now that Raven was dating him, and she was merely protecting what was hers. They surmised it also could have to do with Lust being more active and having an effect on all of the other emotions.

At this point, who knows? Barely anyone understood Rage. She could be angry at you for a plethora of things in under a millisecond. No one retained the subject in their minds for more than a moment.

"Just get the hell out of here!" Rage screamed. Brave took the opportunity to drag her behind the tree. A loud thud could be heard, Brave then walked back out dusting off her hands.

"She should be out for a while," Brave said as she winked at Raven.

"Thanks." Beast Boy and Raven said together.

Everyone else shuffled back to the task at hand, Beast Boy being healed. His spirit form or soul-self was present in Raven's mind. His body was still injured, though he was no longer in danger of dying thanks to the emoticlones.

Raven looked into his emerald eyes, "Feeling ok?" She knew it was an empty question. His body was laying a short twenty feet away.

He smiled, "Now that I'm here with you, yes."

'Always the smooth one,' she said to herself.

Raven took his hand and began to lead him away from the group, wanting to ease his mind as well as keep him out of Rage's range, and also to lead her away from Lust who was still eyeing him. They walked slowly, both taking in the color and calmness. Birds were chirping as the clouds slowly rolled over in the sky.

"So how did you get here? I know since we're connected it might have been easier, but you usually need to be helped," Raven asked.

"Yeah… You're not going to believe who helped me get here… I still don't."

"Who? One of your emotions?" They stopped walking and she turned to face him.

"Well, you could call him that," Beast Boy shifted awkwardly.

Raven thought for a moment. If it wasn't his emotions, or hers, then what brought him here? She played through the possible list in her head, and the previous day's events.

"The Beast?" she asked, finally.

"Yeah, apparently he's been in contact with your emotions, and since our link, he's become more helpful and knowledgeable. It's kinda odd."

"You mean… he's being nice? Or you have control?"

"More like, he gave me control. He said something along the lines of "I'm here when you need me, as opposed to when I want to"."

Raven crossed her arms and looked at the ground. Could this link possibly have really tamed the Beast? Her emotions could have easily helped get his in line. It seems though, that they were having a direct effect on how his emotions acted. Could it possibly work in reverse?

The idea played around in Raven's mind for a few minutes. Beast Boy had taken a seat and was leaning back on his elbows, staring at the blue sky.

"It's become really pretty in here, Rae. I remember the last time I came here 'accidentally' it was all red and rocky."

"Yeah, apparently as my emotions influence you, yours influence mine," she took a seat next to him.

"So all of this is because of me?" Beast Boy asked with a grin.

"Hold up there Romeo, it's because of both of us," she returned his grin with a smile.

Beast Boy returned her smile. "So because of us being together, this place is all happy now?"

"Pretty much, it should be accurate representation of how I feel." Heeding Beast Boy's wish from their date, she refrained from pulling up her hood to hide her blush.

"Raven!" Knowledge shouted.

Raven turned around seeing Knowledge, and acknowledging she was needed. She looked back at Beast Boy and pecked him on the cheek, then got up and ran over to the group.

Beast Boy was speechless. He just turned his gaze back up to the sky, and closed his eyes. He was feeling weird, lighter, but he hadn't wanted to tell Raven. Probably just a side effect from the healing he was receiving. He didn't want to go over to where she was, and he knew that she knew that as well. He wasn't interested in seeing how his mistake with Slade had impacted his body.

'Raven really is amazing.'

With that thought in his mind, when he opened his eyes, he was looking up into Raven's. All of the emotions were crowded around him as well. He hadn't heard them move over to him. He was near the tree again.

"Wait… what?"

"Relax, B," Brave said, grinning.

"You're back in your body now," a deep voice murmured from behind the group.

"What? I was over there, I just closed my eyes, and…"

"Don't think about it too much, babe," Lust said.

"What… how…" Beast Boy looked between the different emotions, "Huh?"

"You reformed with your body. You're in Raven's mind."

"Yes, now relax," Raven said.

Beast Boy looked up, and took in who was standing around him, Brave, Knowledge, Wisdom, Rude, Happy, Lust, Raven, and the Beast.

"Wait, how did he get here?"

"The Beast?"

"Please, just call me Beast. I don't need 'the' title."

"Very well, Beast. He's been here since you conked out over on the grass. Remember? Knowledge called me and I went over to help?" Raven asked.

It was all coming back to him. "Yeah."

"Well, Beast showed up when you started to reform with your body."

"I see." He really didn't.

"I'm here merely to make sure you're alright."

Beast Boy had a hard time believing that. The Beast was a feral part of himself. Could Beast really actually be concerned about him? Or was it all a ploy?

Beast Boy sat up, "So, what did I miss since I got my butt kicked?"

"Robin and the others went out on a mission to lure in and capture Mallah."

"Capture?"

"Yes, they plan on capturing him and finding out more about the plan through him.

"Who went with him?"

"Jinx, Starfire, Cyborg, and Batman."

"Whoa, Rob called in Bats?"

"Yes, as far as I know."

"It must be bad if he's doing that."

"That's what we were thinking," Raven gestured to everyone around her.

"So, what are we going to do?" Beast Boy asked.

"How do you feel?"

"Ready to pay back Slade."

Raven smiled, "Not so fast Tiger, you need to take it easy for a while."

"I feel fine," Beast Boy protested.

"Yeah, you look fine too," Lust added.

"Enough, Lust," Raven warned.

"Sheesh, don't worry, he's ours anyway."

"So what are we going to do about this mission?"

"They left us behind, so I could heal you. When you're back to one hundred percent, which you aren't, we'll see what we can do to help."

"Roger that." Beast Boy stood up, and helped Raven to her feet, she had been kneeling beside him. As he pulled her up, a pain in his side caused him to fall to his knee.

"I told you, you look fine, but you're still injured. I did all I could, but it'll take a couple days to fully heal, much longer if you strain it."

He winced as he stood back up, many sets of hands supporting him, including, surprisingly, Beast.

"Alright then, so when are we good to leave?" He asked.

"When I've had a little break, I used a lot of energy to heal you, and it's been constant."

"Sounds good, you deserve it."

She took his hand and they walked towards the door, leaving everyone behind. The group of emotions began to follow the Chromatically Challenged Couple™, when they reached the door that they had gone through, it was covered in a black aura.

"No fair, Ravey," Happy whined.

"Let them be for now," Wisdom said, "They'll leave when they're ready. Everyone just relax."

_**»§«**_

_"Is it finished?"_

_"Almost, we're missing one piece."_

_"The converter, I take it?"_

_"Yes… I requested we send a higher up for that, and they sent the ape…" Chang said._

"He's able," Slade responded dryly.

"I hope so, without that part, this whole project won't work. On top of that, it was in Titan control, so it's most likely tampered with."

Both men had been standing in the room Chang had been 'jailed' in, staring at the screen on the wall, unsure as to what would happen. Slade didn't like unpredictable circumstances, so he tried his best to have all of the information beforehand and always went in with a bulletproof plan. The screen was displaying in a black and green grid, the plans for the Rift Generator. Slade was certain that Chang knew what it was. The call of Xenothium for him was too high for him to ask what Slade planned to use it for.

Slade honestly had no idea what the idea was for the generator. He knew that Trigon wanted to enter the realm, and knew he wanted to take over the world. He didn't have much of a choice with his soul-self able to be yanked from his body and be put at Trigon's mercy. He hated the fact that he had no control over Trigon, nothing to loom over him. That would have to change at some point. He didn't have many contacts that would be able to go across dimensions.

"How will we know when they get it?" Chang asked.

Slade had almost forgotten he was in a room with Chang, "Soon."

The screen flickered and displayed a small screen with a man staring back at them, it was Wintergreen.

"Sir."

"Yes, Wintergreen?"

"I have a rather large oaf trying to contact you. Saying he has something called a 'converter'?"

"Yes, we've been waiting on him. Make sure you see him down to us, will you?"

"Of course, sir."

With that, the small square that had held Wintergreen's face, closed out. Chang turned to Slade, though Slade kept his eye focused on the screen.

"With that part, I'll need just a few hours and your mechanism will be complete." Chang didn't want to let Slade knew, that he knew, what it was. The less he showed the better chances he had of actually leaving when he was done.

"I believe it is Mammoth who has your part," Slade commented.

They both waited patiently, until the door could be heard sliding open behind them. Chang turned to see who it was, Slade merely kept his stance.

Mammoth and Gizmo slowly followed Wintergreen. Mammoth was carefully cradling the converter, though it looked as he had taken a major beating.

Gizmo was the first to speak up, "Here's your cruddy part! We're still getting paid, right?"

"Of course," Slade responded. He turned and his eye glowed dark red. Gizmo was engulfed in a swirling orange and yellow torrent of flames. Screaming could be heard, and as soon as it started, it was over. All that remained was a black scar on the ground where Gizmo once stood.

Mammoth, in a fury, dropped the converter and charged at the red eyed man. Slade deftly dodged under Mammoth's incoming fist and jabbed straight up into his gut. Chang stood wide-eyed, Wintergreen seemed un-phased. Protruding from the back of Mammoth, was Slade's fist.

The giant man, hacking and coughing, slowly slumped forward as Slade removed his hand.

"Take care of this won't you, Wintergreen?"

"Right away, sir."

Slade then left the room, leaving Wintergreen and Chang together. Wintergreen moved over to Mammoth, and with the skill of a master, snapped his neck, killing him instantly.

"Pity, he was useful. Pray do make yourself useful as long as you can, Professor Chang," Wintergreen said as he walked to the door, dragging Mammoth's body with him, "Oh, and your converter is here, I expect you'll be getting to work?"

"Y-yes I-I will g-get right on i-it."

Chang didn't expect this, he knew he was more useful than two lackeys, but what had they done to deserve this? He made up his mind right there to do everything in his power to remain useful to Slade. He walked shakily over to the converter and began to drag it over to where he had the rest of the pieces assembled. It was going to take a while, but he would get it done.

_**»§«**_

_"Can you track it yet, Mark?" Robin asked._

_The fight hadn't gone how Robin had imagined. Yes, they had captured Mallah. Batman had made sure that Mallah was transported to the tower, and was currently handling his restraints. Robin trusted Batman more than himself right now near the giant ape._

_"I'm trying to pull it up right now," he answered, frantically typing on his keyboard, attempting to get the software to register._

_Robin and Mark were sitting in the Ops room. Cyborg and Jinx were in the med lab, Raven and Beast Boy had disappeared, but according to the security cameras, they had entered her mind, so he was sure they were alright, and Starfire was in the common room talking to the other scientists._

_Chris walked in, disturbing the silence that was haunting Robin. "Rob, we're being called back."_

_"All of you?"_

_"Basically, I talked to Dr. Stone about Mark remaining for a bit to help you."_

_"What did he say?"_

_"That, we'd need to bring him with us. They aren't happy that we lost the converter."_

_Robin sighed. Nothing was working out well, he'd have to call Dr. Stone at some point. "Alright, we appreciate all the assistance you've given us. I'm sure Mark and Cyborg can work together even though they're apart."_

_"Of course we can. I'll call Cyborg as soon as I land. Though I'm sure he knows how to work this software better than I do," Mark said, as he got up to leave._

_"I'll see you out," Robin said, getting up and following them out the door, heading down the hall, and back to the common room._

_The group of scientists sat around the couch and table, when Chris, Mark, and Robin walked in. _

_"Pack it up guys. Dr. Stone has called us back."_

_They all nodded and headed out to go pack up all the tools and mechanisms they brought with them. It would take longer without Cyborg around to haul their stuff, but no one was about to go disturbed him when he was trying to do what he could for Jinx._

_The past day had swept a black cloak of dismay across everyone currently inside the tower. Jinx had been injured, her skull was cracked open. Beast Boy had been injured as well, he was almost incinerated by Slade. Starfire had been injured by Mallah, though Robin neglected to tell anyone, as Starfire looked and acted perfectly normal, not wanting to worry anyone._

_"Robin."_

_He didn't bother to look up, "All done?"_

_"Yes."_

_"How is he restrained?"_

_The Dark Knight walked closer, and put a hand on his shoulder. "None of this is your fault, you keep blaming yourself, and you'll end up like me."_

_Robin did look up this time, "I could have…"_

_"No, you couldn't have. Mallah is held down in the same restrains that I had made for Superman."_

_"So he won't be getting away."_

_"I'll be taking my leave back to Gotham. Joker is apparently on the loose."_

_"Right," Robin began, as Batman began to leave, "Thanks for coming."_

_The Dark Knight didn't look over his shoulder, and merely threw up his hand, signaling a 'goodbye'._

_Everyone was out of the room now, except for Robin and Starfire._

_"I have seen you like this once before, Robin. It was when Slade had hurt our team. Please, tell me, are you ok?"_

_"I'm fine, Star."_

_"I find that hard to believe, but will respect your wish to not talk about it."_

_He looked over at her, and scolded himself for being so closed. He didn't want to turn into Bruce, but he was used to bottling up his feelings and dealing with them after the mission was done._

_"The man of Bats is correct, Robin. You could not have done anything."_

_Robin chuckled in his head. He'd have to remember to call him the 'man of bats' at some point. Smiling, he replied to Starfire, "Thanks Star."_

_He walked over to her and sat down. She leaned her head on his shoulder and they sat there, doing nothing but trying to calm down._

_"ROBIN!" Mark skidded into the room, frantically searching for Robin. He spotted the spikey hair poking out from the top of the couch and ran over._

_"I got a blip for a second and then it disappeared!"_

_Robin sat up quickly, "Show me."_

_They ran full speed, with Starfire in tow, towards the Ops room._

_"I was packing up stuff, and gave it one more attempt. I was able to pull up the tracker, but once it turned on, it's almost as if someone on the other side had shut it off."_

_"Where was it?"_

_They turned the corner and quickly opened the door leading into the room. Robin looked up at the monitor. It showed the last known location, near a power plant, on the outskirts of the city. _

_Little did both Slade and Robin know but before Gizmo and Mammoth had brought it inside, Gizmo had accidently turned on and off the tracker before entering inside Slade's location. He was a genius, but this stuff was apparently too much for him._

"It was outside an abandoned power plant, on the outskirts."

"That must be where Slade is."

"Most likely, but I wouldn't go there yet. We have no idea what he's planning. Why don't you go talk with Mallah? I'll work on getting information for you, though Chris might have better luck with his ties to the government in pulling up records."

"Right, call me when you guys get anything on that plant," Robin said, clasping Mark on the shoulder, "I appreciate it, I really do." He walked back to the common room to the couch and sat down, taking five minutes to go over a line of questioning before heading down to Mallah. The sun had just come up. They had been out a whole night, being a super hero was tiring.

_**»§«**_

_Robin walked, with purpose, to his room. He knew what he was about to do. He couldn't bear to do it while wearing the symbol of hope for many in Jump City._

_He entered the code on his door. It swooshed open, and he entered it, keeping the lights off as the door closed behind him. The dark gave him comfort at the moment. He found a black shirt, sweatshirt and jeans, and some Vans he had for when he needed a public appearance when he lived with Bruce in Gotham. He changed, not once looking over himself in the mirror. He removed his mask, and pulled the hood over his head so nothing could be seen. He was having a huge argument with himself inside his head. Maybe there was another way? No. This had to happen. He was tired of losing to Slade._

_Blood coated the floor. Screams could have been heard, but the room was soundproofed. A man in black was inside, near a very injured Monsieur Mallah. Deep wounds were clearly visible. Knives, prods, and heavy wrenches were on a table near where Mallah was strapped down._

_"You show no allegiance to him! Tell me what you know, now!"_

_"He'll kill me if I do!" Shouted Mallah, desperation and honesty laced in his words._

_"And you think I won't if I don't get what I want?"_

_"You… can't… you… won't…"_

_The man under the hood, Dick Grayson, wasn't sure what he would do if Mallah refused, but he wasn't going to lose to Slade. Robin wasn't in any part of his psyche now. He was doing this to protect his team, his friends._

_"I can, and I will. If you don't tell me what I want."_

_"Protect me, and I'll share what I know!" Mallah was pleading. He had nothing, and no one to save himself, aside from what he knew._

_"I hold all the cards, you give me what I want, and perhaps I can do something for you."_

_"What guarantee do I have?"_

_Dick put down the wrench he was holding, "You don't."_

_Mallah thought for a second, he was in excruciating pain, his limbs were all injured and his vision was hazy. He had no other options, this was Robin after all. He recognized the voice, though he hadn't recognized the outfit. _

"Robin, protect me and I'll tell you what you want to know."

"I'm not Robin."

"Y-yes you are, I recognize your voice!" Mallah spat in a panic.

"I'm much worse than Robin," Dick said, picking up the wrench and holding it over his head.

While Mallah's vision was blurry, he was able to make out the figure looming over him, "ALRIGHT!" he shouted.

Dick lowered the wrench, "Speak, quickly."

"Slade contacted the Brotherhood of Evil to work for him. He said he needed us to gather parts for some machine. He wouldn't say what it was. We're not even being paid by him."

"Go on."

"There were groups that were sent out, four or five of us. I was requested specifically for this. The rest of the groups were common thugs."

"Do you know what the part does?"

"We know it's a power source, The Brain had been looking into it in the past."

"Where would you have taken it if you had obtained it."

"Some building on the edge of town."

"The power plant?"

"I believe so, yes."

Dick now had what he needed. He put down the wrench, and without another word, walked from the room. The door closed behind him, and he began to pace.

'What could Slade be planning?'

"Robin, is that you?"

Starfire had been looking for Robin. She couldn't find him in his usual places, in his study, the Ops room, or even in his own room. She checked the roof, and then decided to check the lower levels where the containment rooms are as well as the prison rooms.

Dick wasn't about to be seen after what he had just done. He turned and ran. Starfire was fast, but he had the advantage. He ran for it. He would easily lose her in the shadows, and then make his way back to his room and change.

Starfire didn't chase him though, she knew it was him. She turned and looked in the room where he had been. Mallah was still restrained, oozing blood.

'Robin could not have done this,' she said to herself.

She flew the opposite way and went to find Cyborg, he needed to have a look at Mallah and help him, before he bled to death.

Robin saw her leave, and noticed her look inside the room where Mallah was being held. He was found out, this was bad. He had done something that no one would have thought he could do, not even himself.

He snuck back to his room, staring at his uniform on his bed; he didn't think he could put it back on.

"Robin?"

He heard her voice, but didn't see anyone. He closed his eyes; he couldn't bear to see her.

"Robin? Robin are you alright?"

"W-what?"

"Robin. Look at me!"

Robin opened his eyes. He was in the common room on the couch. He was covered in sweat, covered in a blanket.

"W-What, where am I?"

"You are in our home, in the common room."

"What?"

"You were doing the rolling and tumbling," Starfire tried to convey.

"Tossing and turning…" Robin corrected, attempting to fake a smile.

"Yes, that. Are you alright, Robin?"

"I'm fine…" he started, pausing to think for a moment, could he really lie to Starfire? Now that she was his girlfriend? Moreover, did he need to?, "Actually, no. I'm not."

It took Robin all of five seconds to be honest with her. No more lies, no more hiding facts. He was who he was. Not who Batman made him to be.

"I had a nightmare."

"What happened in this mare of the night?"

Robin actually smiled. Starfire's language had a way of making him smile. He knew she understood what it meant, and sometimes neglected correcting her just to hear her talk in that manner.

"I… tortured someone."

"Tortured?"

"I hurt someone, so they would tell me something."

"Tell me Robin, who did you hurt?" She asked.

"Monsieur Mallah."

"Why did you torture him?"

"To get information, so I could save the team."

"Save us from what?"

Robin hadn't taken a minute to think about that, why did he torture Mallah? Slade. Slade was the reason that he did it. He did it for information.

"From Slade."

"You do not need to protect us from Slade. We are a team, we can handle him together."

Robin had been so dead set on protecting his team that he forgot that they protect him as well. They work together to overcome problems, not behind one another's backs.

"…Will you guys help me interrogate Mallah? I don't trust myself with him anymore."

"You would do fine, Robin, but if you wish, we shall assist you."

Robin hung his head, disappointed that he needed to ask for help, but also, in a way, relieved. He wanted to have help when he talked to Mallah, but he always felt as though he should be doing it himself. Having Starfire, Cyborg, and possibly Jinx, depending on whether she was better or not, would help greatly, as Mallah wouldn't have time to focus and fight one person.

"Let's go see if we can get Cyborg and Jinx to come with us."

"That is a good idea," Starfire said, "Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"I know it must have been hard for you to disclose that mare of the night to me. I appreciate that you are trusting me."

"How can I not?" Robin leaned in and gave her a small kiss. Something he had been neglecting to do.

Starfire blushed, and grabbed his hand, and began to lead him to the elevator. Robin considered going to find Beast Boy and Raven, but after what happened to him, he knew that they would join the group when they were ready.

The elevator dinged, and the two stepped out. They continued their journey down the hall and opened the med lab door. They walked inside and found no one.

"Where are Jinx and Cyborg?" Robin asked.

"They were here when we returned, I am sure of it," Starfire responded.

"Perhaps he's in his room… but Jinx isn't in here. What about her room?"

"Perhaps we should split up and look for them?" Starfire suggested.

"Good idea, Star. I'll go see if Cy is in his room."

"And I shall do the same with Jinx," she said, "Do not worry, Robin. Everything will be ok."

"Thanks, I needed that."

Robin walked off in the direction of Cyborg's room, while Starfire floated away towards Jinx's.

Starfire floated gracefully down the hallway. Finding Jinx's new room, she landed in front of the door that was engraved with 'Jinx' on it.

She reached out her hand to knock, and heard soft voices. Starfire put her ear to the door, and listened.

"What if they find us in the room?"

"Robin already knows. He caught me in a lie when he asked about where you went shopping."

"I went with Starfire, so she already knows."

"We haven't seen BB, or Rae all day, so I assume they don't know, though since they aren't in the med lab I would assume we won't see them for a bit. Raven is probably attempting to heal him in her mind."

"Why in her mind?"

"Well, out here she's limited by emotions, inside she isn't. She can let her powers go wild."

"So, she should be able to heal Beast Boy?"

"So he's good as new," Cyborg reassured.

Starfire, not wanting to be sneaky, or be caught eavesdropping, knocked on the door, "Friends?"

Scuffling could be heard, as Cyborg walked to the door. It opened to reveal a smiling Cyborg and Jinx sitting on her bed with the covers pulled around her, with a huge bandage on her head.

"Hey Star."

"Hello friends! Jinx, are you ok?"

"Yeah, tin head here fixed me up."

"Glorious!" Starfire yelled. She floated past Cyborg and sat down next to Jinx on the bed.

"Like it Star? It came earlier."

"It is most comfortable."

"The delivery guy was surprised when Cyborg just lifted it with one arm and said 'Thanks'. Can you believe he almost asked if we needed help?"

"He did drive away quite quickly…" Cyborg said, scratching his chin.

There was another knock at the door, and Cyborg, who was already standing over near the door answered it.

"Come on in Robin, everyone else is here."

Robin walked in, and noticed Jinx, the new bed, and Starfire.

"Doing alright, Jinx?"

"Yep!"

"Good." Robin walked over to the bed and pressed his hand into it, as many people do, "Nice bed."

"I have Jinx and Star to thank for that," Cyborg commented.

"Ah right, I remember." Robin shot a grin at Cyborg, remembering their previous conversation.

"So what's up?"

Starfire almost mentioned Robin's nightmare, but caught herself, and kept quiet. He noticed and figured it was time to open a bit to his team.

"Well, I had a nightmare. I fell asleep on the couch before I was going to see if Mallah would give up any information." Robin began.

"A nightmare, huh? You don't get many dreams or nightmares as far as I know." Cyborg said.

"True. I stopped having them a long time ago. This was different though, I…" he hesitated.

"It can't be that bad, Rob," Cyborg said, Jinx and Starfire remained silent, but listening intently.

"I tortured him, for information."

"Any particular reason? Or did you just enjoy it?"

"I don't know. I couldn't come up with a reason aside from protecting you guys. He's tied up and is no harm to you and I still wanted to torture him. I wouldn't stop until he gave me the information."

"Well, that's all it is. A bad dream, don't let it bother you."

"I still feel that way, Cy."

"Well then let me handle the questioning."

"I was hoping we all would."

"Works for me," Cyborg said, "C'mon ya'll, let's go talk to a monkey."

_**»§«**_

_The interrogation chamber was a blank room. Usually it had the table and a couple chairs. Its normal appearance from two days ago when Jinx occupied it, had changed and now had a solitary upright human shaped table in the middle._

Strapped to the table was an abnormally large monkey, also known as Monsieur Mallah. Outside the four Titans stood in silence. The glass allowed them to see through, but not for Mallah to see out.

"So, who is going in first?"

"I figured we could do a bit of Good Cop, Bad Cop, hun." Jinx spoke up, answering Cyborg's question.

"Works for me, I tried once before with Beast Boy, but he went way overboard."

Robin nodded, "You two go ahead, we'll watch and come in if you need any help."

Cyborg opened and held the door for Jinx, who was still a bit wobbly.

"Hey there, ya big old ape!" She shot at him as she walked in.

Mallah merely opened one eye and looked at her, then sighed and closed it. He knew what they were doing already. 'Who do they think I am? Some stupid monkey from the zoo?'

Sadly, that was exactly what the two were thinking. Hoping they could easily agitate calm him down together.

"What's wrong? Don't wanna talk to me?"

"No," was all he answered.

"I figured as much. Say, do you want me to bring you a banana? We got some last time we went shopping."

"I do not want anything from you, you filthy traitor."

"Traitor? Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"No. You betrayed The Brain. He will hunt you down for that."

"I have no doubt. Good thing I told the Titans everything I know. We're going for him after we deal with you."

"You don't know anything important."

"Sure about that, Mr. Monkey?"

"I have beyond human intelligence and am a General in the Brotherhood of Evil. I promise you, that you, of all people, know nothing."

"I happen to know how intelligent you are, Monsieur," Cyborg began, "Enough that you know the plans, and trusted enough that you know what is being built."

"So what? You really think I'd fall for this routine? You two watch cop dramas on TV and think you can use it on me?"

"I was kind of hoping so," Cyborg said. Both Jinx and Cyborg were giving up on the good cop, bad cop routine. It was time to see if he could be forced to divulge information through anger. Though it seemed Jinx just wanted to anger him.

"You humans never cease to amaze me. Always thinking you can outsmart someone, you weakling will never finish off the Brotherhood of Evil, and you will NEVER stop Slade from constructing his…"

"His what, Monkey-boy?"

"SHUT UP! I AM MORE THAN YOU WILL BE!"

"Doubtful, I'm part robot," Cyborg said calmly with a grin.

"Careful there Banana brain, you should relax, don't want you rampaging like before," Jinx antagonized.

"I WILL NOT RELAX!"

"You will. You will also tell us what we need to know, and then you can go to jail."

A minute or so passed, Mallah seemed to be playing with different ideas in his head.

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"If you do, you only go to jail for theft. If you don't, you're in for conspiracy."

"I will not betray The Brain."

"Do you hate Slade?" A voice rang out from the back of the room.

Mallah looked back, seeing only boots, and the rest of the man hidden in shadow.

"Yes."

Robin stepped forward out of the shadows. "Then tell us what you know on Slade. I hate him as much, if not more, than you. I want to stop him. He's using you, and he's using Brain."

Mallah played with the idea of telling him what he knew, and also thought that The Brain might actually reward him for turning the Titans off of the Brotherhood of Evil and on to Slade.

"I will not disclose any information about the Brotherhood." He said, finally, and softly.

"I wasn't asking about the Brotherhood, I was asking about Slade. What is he doing?"

"He's making some sort of Rift generator."

"What do you mean a Rift generator?"

"I'm sure you don't understand quantum mechanics, and I don't have the time or patience to explain them to you," Cyborg already knew, but he wanted to let Mallah focus on Robin.

"You do."

Mallah glared at him, knowing he held none of the cards; he was at Robin's whim.

"You understand Raven's teleportation?"

"No, but I can surmise it's comparable to that?

"Essentially, it rips a hole in the fabric of reality and allows a being, or item to go into a separate dimension, or vice versa."

"Why is he building this?"

"We do not know. All I was told was what I just said, and the fact that this all leads back to Slade."

"What about his base?"

"He has many, from what we at the Brotherhood know, but I would assume he is using the power plant as his base of operations for this."

"Is that where you were told to take the part?"

"Yes."

"We'll arrange for your pick up by the jail."

Without any more words, the Titans left the room.

"This is bad," said Cyborg.

_**»§«**_

_'Just one, more wire… there.'_

_Chang was putting the finishing touches on the machine. It was a very plain device, rather rectangle like, and doorframe above it made out of magnetized iron in the shape of a doorway._

_He admired his work for a moment, and then walked over to the screen. He pushed a button on the bottom left and a face popped up._

_"Well?"_

_"Tell Slade, it's complete."_

_"I will pass along the message." _

_Hopefully, unlike Gizmo and Mammoth, he would be able to walk out of the building alive, and with Xenothium. He desperately needed the Xenothium, though he wasn't about to attempt to steal it himself. Most of it was locked up by either Wayne Industries or LexCorp. _

_The door clicked and opened behind him. Wintergreen walked in first, follow by Slade, who now had red marks all along his armor._

_Chang knew better than to antagonize Slade, and merely ignored his new glowing appearance. "I finished your mechanism."_

_"You can call it a Rift generator. You already know that's what it is."_

_"Well… yes."_

_"You're worried about me killing you?"_

_Chang looked him dead in the eye, not wanting to show weakness, or his fear._

_Slade continued, walking in farther and around the generator. "The thought crossed my mind, free work, and I would keep my Xenothium."_

_"What do you plan to do with me?"_

_"Do with you? Nothing. I came here to extend an offer. Something I rarely do."_

_Chang was interested. He wasn't in danger at the moment, though he may be if he just stated his wishes of getting the Xenothium that was promised and leaving in one piece._

_"I would like you to stay here. I have rooms and extensive labs, and wish for you to help me operate this machine."_

_"What do I get in return?"_

_"Access to my money, in order to fund your research, and the Xenothium, as promised before."_

_"I don't think I could turn it down even if I wanted to. If I did, you're liable to kill me."_

_"That's the spirit." Slade commented. "Does the generator have a failsafe 'off'?"_

_"Yes. I installed multiple backups, in case it either went out of control, or it needed to be closed for some reason."_

_"Very well. The time has come. Let us engage the Rift."_

_"R-Right now?"_

_"Yes, now."_

_Chang didn't want to be around when it opened. He had no idea what was on the other side of the Rift and didn't want to find out. However, he diligently walked to the panel that was installed near the generator, off to the left side, and began to type in the basic commands for powering it online._

_A light sound, almost like a car coming, could be heard as the machine began to generate power. After a minute the sound was still just as soft and distant, though at a higher pitch._

_"How much are we generating?"_

_"Almost enough to support the entire country," said Chang, impressed himself, with the output._

_"Fantastic, we should be able to open the rift."_

_The doorway, which was made of magnetized iron began to buzz, and electricity arched off it like a cat's back. In the center of the doorway, a bright hole could be seen, surrounded by a dark glow. It was glowing bright white. As it began to expand, the bright white began to turn a bright pink, then eventually a red. The rip in dimensions expanded to the size of the door and halted._

_Chang looked over his computer, just as a hand grasped the side of the doorway, from the other side. It was darkish red, scaly, with black nails._

_"It's about time…" A voice said._

_"Welcome, Master." Slade said, acting the part._

_Another hand grasped the other side. A long flowing mane of black hair slowly emerged from the portal, then the body of the figure, which was covered in black armor amassed with spiked. The front of his face was covered by his hair, but the glow was unmistakable, the eyes glowed red. _

_ "It has been too long since I walked in this realm." He was now standing in the room. Where his feet were, the ground cooked. "I have many plans._

_"As do I," Slade said._

_"Ah, but you will be carrying out my plans, Slade."_

_"We will be carrying out each other's," Slade said trying desperately to gain a little semblance of control._

_"Do you know why I gave you powers, Slade?"_

_"To make this easier for you, so there was no chance of failure."_

_"Partly correct. A part of myself, resides in you."_

_"You… don't mean?"_

_Trigon walked over and placed a hand on the mark that resided on Slade's forehead. Trigon seemed to be sucked inside, and Slade fell over, grasping his head, screaming. Wintergreen rushed over to try and help him, but was knocked aside, forcefully and flung into the opposite wall where he fell to a heap._

_Suddenly, the screaming stopped, and Slade's hands fell to his sides. His body began to shake, and then laughter could be heard, maniacal laughter._

_"Yes… this will do… just fine."_

_Slade looked up at Professor Chang, two red eyes gleaming out from the mask, both on the left side. _

_"What… who… are you?" Chang gasped._

_"I… am… Trigon."_


	8. Chapter 8: Power Up

_**A/N: **__Here's chapter 8! We're starting to get to the main plot points, sorry if it's a bit dark. There will be some fluff and stuff coming up, hang tight!_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own the Teen Titans, though I wish I did._

_**Chapter 8: Power Up**_

"Feeling any better now?"

Raven and Beast Boy had been sitting quietly in the library, sharing a few moments of peace together. They escaped the company of the emotions to avoid questions, and Raven mostly wanted to get away from Lust.

"So, I take it that the whole team knows about us?" Beast Boy asked.

"Pretty much. How could they not?"

"Robin is pretty oblivious when it comes to people and feelings."

The couple sat at a table in a secluded spot in the back of the library. It was dimly lit, the only light sources being the candles Raven had summoned which were now floating silently above them.

"When you're ready to go, we'll head back to the team and see what we can do to help."

"I'm ready when you are."

"Well, let's stay here for another few minutes, then we can go." She changed her own mind, wanting to stay with Beast Boy alone just a bit longer.

Raven leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling safe in Beast Boy's company. She began to slowly close her eyes. She was tired. Between her meditation and her bouts with villains, She had little time to sit down and merely enjoy being alive. Relaxation and sleep came second.

Beast Boy noticed her taking a break and kept quietly to himself. He wasn't dumb enough to bother Raven, especially in her own mind when she was peacefully resting. He looked over her while she rested. She had wrapped her cloak around herself and had her arms crossed underneath. Her hood was up, though Beast Boy had tried to tell her to keep it down, and her eyes were closed. A single strange of violet hair hung out from under her hood and she was breathing peacefully.

Raven only had her eyes closed, she could feel Beast Boy's gaze on her.

"What?" She asked.

Beast boy, a bit startled, answered, "Nothing!"

"No, seriously, what?" she pushed. Raven wasn't one to push a subject, but she knew what he was thinking and wanted to hear him say it, just to make him a bit embarrassed for once.

"Well… I was just thinking how beautiful you are when you're asleep."

"I wasn't asleep."

"You know what I mean."

Raven grinned, eyes still closed, "Thank you, Gar."

"Anytime, baby."

She opened one eye and caught his eye, the "old Raven death glare" being used once more.

"Sorry." He said, grinning from ear to ear. He was never going to get used to the fact that he could now get away with calling her 'baby'. He was so used to being smacked for even calling her 'Rae' that he flinched sometimes when she just looked at him.

Time seemed to pass relatively slowly for Beast Boy although he had sat and watched her for a half hour before getting up. He was looking around the library, reading titles from afar, and every so often checking on Raven. She had fallen asleep, and he knew enough to let her sleep. He got up and walked around hoping to find a comic book, though he knew he wouldn't, when a book caught his eye. "The History of Azarath", he read.

"Azarath… where Raven is from?" he asked no one in particular.

He popped open the book and saw a picture of a giant city, covered in gold. The sun shone brightly down upon the walkways that spanned the magnificently tall spread buildings spread through out the city. Beast Boy marveled at the buildings, but the landscape caught his eye just as much. It was just like Affection's realm, beautiful green grass and rolling hills.

"I wonder why Affection's realm has such a close resemblance to her homeworld…" he said softly to himself.

"Probably because I miss it," Raven said.

Beast boy threw up his arms, while shrieking, and dropped the book. His fear had internally changed his form to a dog, and he was now playing dead on the floor.

"Oh, get up!" She said, nudging him with her foot.

He transformed back into his human form and smiled, while rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, get carried away sometimes."

"No kidding. So, as I was saying, I miss Azarath, but we'll talk about it at some other time."

"Hey, Rae?"

"Mmm?"

"You remember, at dinner, before Slade showed up… you were about to tell me a secret."

"Yes, I remember."

"Any chance I could find out what that was?"

Raven showed him her deadpan expression that she never changed, aside from when she was smiling at him, and sighed. "I guess you do deserve to know, though it isn't some huge secret."

"Well, apparently it is, 'cause you had to think there whether to tell me or not."

"It's just… personal."

Beast Boy's face softened. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious."

"Rachel."

"Rachel who?"

"Rachel Roth."

"Who is that?"

"Me, that's my name."

Beast Boy just stared at her for the longest time. He was amazed that she trusted him enough to tell him.

"I haven't told anyone else. And you won't either, I hope."

"Never, Rae. Why have you never told anyone? It's a beautiful name."

Raven began to blush. She had never told anyone her name and wasn't expecting that kind of responce from anyone, especially Beast Boy.

"Well... Thank you, Gar. I just wanted to keep myself as removed from everyone."

"Of course. At least your name is cool. I'm named after a fat cat."

Raven smiled and almost chuckled. His name could be funny, but it was also cute. It just so happened that Beast Boy's favorite transformation to get what he wanted was the same thing as the fat character he shared a name with. Raven was sure the irony escaped him.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"Much." After responding he changed swiftly into a dog and began to wag his tail.

She stared at him, "Be careful on those changes, we worked really hard to fix all those injuries."

He changed back and flashed a toothy grin. "Of course, but I figured you'd want to see me change at least once."

She nodded, assuming now he was ready to leave her mind.

Before they could leave the library, Beast Boy stopped and looked at her. He was still holding the History of Azarath.

"What's up? Something wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about you."

Beast Boy was flipping through the book, looking at the pictures and reading exerpts that he found. He was interested in her homeworld. He wanted desperately to ask questions, but didn't think that it was the right time.

"What is it? It's not just me."

"I'm just curious about Azarath."

"What about it?"

"Well... What was it like?"

Raven thought for a minute, summoning two chairs for them from the nearby desk. They slid near them and they both took a seat.

"You're interested in not just Azarath, but my story, aren't you?"

"Since when did you get to know me so well?"

"Since forever ago."

"Any chance of that story then?"

Raven considered it, but to what extent did he want to know? She had already told the Titans most of her story when her father made her the portal. 'I wonder...'

"Anything in particular you want to know?" She asked, curious now.

"Well... I was just interested in what you were like when you were growing up."

"I wasn't much different than how you knew me when we first met."

"Oh really? I bet you were really adorable and asked a lot of questions."

Raven blushed, she couldn't hide it. She had no choice but to answer him. "I asked a lot of questions, I was interested in magic and how it worked, and I was also interested in what my limitations would be. Azar told me that, and I know this is corny, but that I could do whatever I set my mind to."

"Just a bit."

"Just a bit, what?"

"Just a bit corny."

She playfully slapped his arm, and covered her mouth while she laughed ever so slightly. 'This is nice,' she thought. Being able to sit down and just talk with someone. Not having to worry about emotions. She continued though.

"I liked to laugh," she admitted, knowing Beast Boy wouldn't have been satisfied with just her interests as a child.

"Whoa, who would have guessed."

"Yeah," she giggled.

"Well I like when you laugh, so I'll make sure to try harder to make you laugh."

"I'm not sure if that's really a good thing or a bad thing considering your jokes."

"Hey!" Beast Boy crossed his arms.

Raven laughed again, "Alright, ready to head back now? No more questions?"

Beast Boy stretched, "Yeah, why not. I feel a lot better."

The couple rose from their chairs in the dimly lit library and Raven took matters of transportation into her own hands and moved them to the exit gate via her portal. Standing right infront of the gate, were all of Raven's emotions, and the Beast. They were all in a circle talking softly. Raven and Beast Boy approached without saying a word.

It took the clones a few minutes, but they eventually they noticed that the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ had arrived.

"Hey Ravey!" Happy shouted, being the first one to see them.

"Hey Happy!" Beast Boy interjected, trying to pull Happy's attention away, concious of his girlfriend's distaste for her happy and affectionate side.

"Oh! Hey, B!" Happy quickly ran over to him and gave him a hug.

Raven walked silently past the two and towards Wisdom and Knowledge who were now standing aside from the group, near one of the pillars that supported the portal.

"Any news?"

"Nothing that we've been able to find."

"So, there's nothing bad about it then?"

"As far as we both can figure out, no. Everything about Beast seems normal, and honest."

"So, Gar is in no danger?"

"We wouldn't say that, but he's safe for now. The Beast doesn't seem to have any malicious ideas, and was genuinely concerned about Beast Boy's well-being."

"So, can you keep an eye on him, once we leave?"

"It will be a bit difficult," Knowledge began, "but we can try our best to peek in on him every once in a while," Wisdom finished.

Raven nodded her approval, and walked back over to the rest of the emotions who were crowding around Beast Boy and the Beast, who were arm wrestling. Raven saw this and shook her head, 'Of course he is arm wrestling himself,' she said to herself.

"Beast Boy, let's go."

No response was heard from Beast Boy right away, just groaning noises from an animal. He had changed into a silverback gorilla in order to equally arm wrestle Beast. Both strained, until they both nodded and let go, separating as equals. Beast Boy changed back and walked over to Raven.

"Alright, I'm ready."

The two, having spent enough time in Raven's mind, were now leaving. Beast Boy was almost back at one hundred percent, and Raven was feeling rested after her short nap.

Raven turned to the clones, "I'll come back in a bit."

"Bye Beastie-boo!" Lust shouted, waving. Raven grabbed him quickly and they rushed through the portal.

As far as Beast Boy could remember, leaving the gate was a painful experience for him. Last time he had reappeared and then fell onto his rear end, which he was not looking forward to. One way he looked at it though was that he was not only alive and able to feel the pain, but allowed inside Raven's mind. Wisdom and Knowledge had told him at one point that Raven was more open now to sharing herself and her past with him. A 'Stargate' effect occurred and Beast Boy was two feet off the ground and landed on his rear end in the med lab. "I gotta get the hang of that."

Raven floated down to the ground next to him. She'd never tell him, but when she first came out of her mind the same thing happened to her, every time. It took her a bit to get the hang of it, but she was able to hold herself up at the last second and float to the ground instead of land.

She helped him up with her powers and looked him in the eyes, "We need to find the rest of the team."

"Any idea where they are?"

"Actually, yes. I'm currently sensing four… in Jinx's room."

Raven had re-adopted her deadpan expression and gravely tone voice. She had realised that she couldn't get too comfortable with being able to show emotions. If something happened to Beast Boy during a fight, she could freak out and explode half the city. Keeping control is more important, though she could afford to open up every once in a while.

The couple walked down the hallway and found the door to Jinx's room closed. Assuming they were inside, Raven knocked. She could have easily phased them through the door, but it wasn't polite, so she refrained from doing that to her teammates, excluding Beast Boy, who didn't mind if she did, even before they were dating.

A few footsteps were heard and the door opened. A smiling Cyborg was standing smack dab infront of them. "Awesome! You two are alright! Gave me a scare Rae, when you took off his monitors, but it looks like the green bean was in good hands."

Raven offered him a small smile as Cyborg looked down and saw the two were holding hands. He returned her smile and moved aside, letting them into the room.

"Raven, Beast Boy! Glorious! I am most glad to see you are both alright!" Before the two of them could do anything, they were scooped up in a Tamerian death hug.

"Hey you two, good to have you back." Jinx said, still having not moved from her bed.

Raven noticed the wrap around her head and walked over. "Lemme have a look at that."

Jinx nodded and Raven undid the bandage. She closed her eyes and focused on healing the fracture. Within a minute, Jinx was healed. "Thanks Raven."

Raven merely nodded and looked up at Robin.

"Glad you two are back on your feet. How is he?" Robin nodded over in Beast Boy's direction.

"He's tender, but ready to go."

"We'll make sure he takes it easy," Robin said assuredly.

"So, you aren't mad… about us?" Raven asked preemptively, fearing he was going to bring up the risk of a relationship. Even though she had been assured by her emotions that he was dating Starfire and now wasn't the time for him to play favorites.

"No. I'm worried about Slade and the welfare of everyone. I'm happy for you."

Raven nodded. Everyone was now listening. Beast Boy had shared a moment with Cyborg, a short hug and a intricate handshake that only the two of them knew.

"So what did we miss, Rob?" Beast Boy asked, trying his best to change the subject.

"I was hoping that you could tell me that. The most we know is that Slade shot some torrent of fire at you and Raven got you out of there."

"Yeah, that's pretty much all I know too. I was out."

"Raven?" Robin asked.

"Slade came to our dinner to ask me to join him. I kept this part to myself before, only because the scientists were around, but he hit Beast Boy with more than fire."

"What do you mean?"

"He hit him with a demonic energy torrent. As he was shooting the fire, I recognized the runes of Scathe on his arm."

"Runes of Scathe?"

"They're demonic runes."

"Who uses them?"

"Actually, almost all demons can, they adopted it from the Cult of Scathe."

"So it could mean that Slade is working with demons?"

"I'd almost guarantee it. Though, I'd probably venture a guess at a specific demon."

"Your father," Beast Boy offered.

Raven nodded. She had seen the runes before, though she hadn't mentioned it to the team, but those specific Runes of Scathe were used almost soley by her father and his horde.

"My father and his army use them."

"Did you get a good look? Do you know what they mean?"

"No, I don't know how to read the runes. It wouldn't help us much either, as they're usually just words of power, or marks of control. So aside from that bit of information, did we miss anything?"

Jinx spoke up, "We captured Mallah, though we lost the converter."

"Losing that converter is bad..." Raven started, "Did Mallah give us anything useful?"

"Actually, yeah," Cyborg started, "He told us where they took the converter and a possible location for Slade's hideout."

"Oh! That reminds me!" Beast Boy jumped around a bit, as though he was looking for something, "Is Bats still here? I totally want an autograph."

"He's gone, B. Sorry buddy."

"So what's the plan Robin?" Raven asked, eager to get the plan going.

"I haven't gotten to the good part yet, Raven. Jinx here, has a curse on the converter, and before we took it out the scientists were able to get an EMP on it."

"So have you used the EMP yet?"

"No, the converter will automatically use it when it begins to generate power, although if it's in Slade's hands, it might have been deactivated."

"So, this curse, Jinx... What does it do?"

"It will blow up the converter." She said simply.

"So can you activate it?"

"Sadly, no. Conditions have to be met. Curse rules."

"What conditions?"

"Usually curses are set up to work based off of a key phrase."

"What did you set it to?"

"Slight problem there..." Jinx began.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked aprehensively.

"Well... I know Raven healed me, but I haven't been able to remember, since I got hit."

"So we probably lost our EMP and the curse is on a set phrase we don't know."

"Sounds like we need to get the converter back before something bad happens, Rob." Cyborg added.

"Yeah, Mallah said they're at the power plant on the outskirts. Raven, can you portal us?"

"All six? If I do, I won't be much help with anything else."

"It's a chance we'll have to take. We can't let Slade have that converter. You know where it is right?"

Raven nodded and everyone moved in closer to her. Beast Boy took a position standing behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. Black energy shot up from the ground and surrounded the Titans in a bubble as they sunk into the floor.

_**»§«**_

"I... am... Trigon..." he stated, "And you are now going to do as I say, unless you want to die."

Chang hadn't seen this coming. He thought Slade at most would want to go to a different dimension to steal something or escape from the Titans. He didn't expect a demon lord to come through the portal. He couldn't disobey Trigon now. He couldn't speak, he merely nodded to Trigon, accepting his fate.

"You will lock this portal, so that it cannot be shut down. Do you understand?"

Chang nodded and began frantically typing into the keyboard, the monitor on the wal now displayed in big red letters "GATE LOCKED OPEN".

Trigon, upon taking over Slade's body, took his memories as well. He knew about the layout of the base and where they were and his previous engagements with the Titans.

"Go up to the room on the second floor, first door on the left. Stay there I will come get you if you are needed."

Trigon had considered killing him. He knew how to operate the generator, as he had designed it. Though it was apparent, that Slade had added some technology to it and Chang could possibly know how to turn it off, or have added a failsafe in.

He would keep him around for a short time, then eliminate him if it is found that there is no way Chang could interfere.

"Imitatores autem ex inferno, et exaudi verba mea opere rationis. Tare et sibi illam vim regni tui." Trigon said, facing towards the Rift.

As soon as Trigon began to mutter his spell, Chang saw an opportunity to escape and took it, he had been frozen until now, unable to move. His senses and body came back to him. He bolted for the door and ran out, and down the hallway, looking quickly for the door. He ran through two more sets of doors and finally found an exit of sorts, a doorway, that lead out to a road. Chang ran with all the energy he had left and made his way down the street, concious that Trigon might come after him.

_**»§«**_

The Titans emerged on the hill located above the power plant. It was a cool summers evening, the sun having set just a few minutes ago. Having had spent the day interrogating Mallah and catching up on some much needed sleep, they were going in under the blanket of darkness to attempt to find out what they could about Slade's plan. Robin had no words for the team, he merely pointed and paired them off. He and Starfire would fly up to the top of the plant and search for a way in, Cyborg and Jinx would look for an entrance on the lower levels and Beast Boy and Raven would stay put as they are still recovering.

Robin and Starfire were the first to reach the building, as she was carrying him. They landed stealthily on the roof. The only thing that could give them away was Starfire's glowing green eyes. He nodded to her for her to stay hidden while he searched around.

Cyborg and Jinx a few minutes later made their way to the front of the power plant compound.

The power plant had been there for years. It was originally used during the sixties and seventies, and had been decommissioned for years now. It was giant, ten or so buildings huddled inside the crumbling concrete wall. The buildings had been built mostly out of concrete and aluminum paneling, mostly to prevent wear and tear.

The main building was apparent, as it had smoke stacks for the fumes that were the side effect of power generation. That was where the assumption was made by Robin that this was the most likely place that Slade would have his hidden base.

Raven was sitting down next to Beast Boy, nursing herself as she had spent a good amount of her power moving six souls across a decent distance. Even after one or two trips just by herself is enough to sap enough power to slow her down.

"Think they'll find anything?" Beast Boy asked.

"I don't know. Robin seems dead set on finding Slade. So he won't give up until he has something."

Beast Boy sighed. "Hopefully he finds something, I wanna go back and lay down. I'm tired."

"You were just in a coma. You slept for like a day."

"So? I'm still sleepy."

"I was wondering when the Beast Boy I know and lov…" she trailed off, realizing her mistake almost immediately.

Beast Boy perked up, "What?"

"Nothing, just made a comment that you're back to your old self."

Raven felt some of her power siphon off as she shed most of her embarrassment. However, before Beast Boy could open his mouth again, the communicator went off.

"Raven, this is Cyborg, come in."

She pulled her communicator from her belt and clicked the button, "I'm here Cyborg, what did you find?"

"Jinx and I found an entrance. We're going to check inside."

"Understood, be careful."

Cyborg and Jinx were at the front door, it was locked, though with a bit of Jinx's magic, the door unluckily clicked open and they were able to waltz right inside. The main room had dust everywhere. It was a big room, taking up most of the building. Conveyer belts took up a big portion of the back of the room, while the floor had many machines that were used for generating electricity, though they hadn't been turned on in years.

Cyborg and Jinx made their way slowly farther into the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Although it was just a power plant to many, to the Titan's trained eyes it was a possible base. Footprints could be seen on the floor as though they had been left in the snow. With Cyborg on the case, even though Robin was the detective, he could use his technology to search for clues, such as power fluctuations or even cameras and live wires.

Jinx beat him to it though and walked over to the wall where a couple light switches are.

"Hey Sparky, any chance these work?" She said in a low tone.

"No, there's no power," he said, scanning the room, "This can't be one of Slade's bases. It appears to be just what it is, an old power plant."

Jinx figured she'd flip the switch anyway, and to the surprise of both of them, the lights began to click on. Just as you'd expect in a plant, loudly as though something was crashing into a wall, each set of lights turned on, row by row.

"Well, if they didn't know we were here yet, they do now," Jinx commented, putting her hands on her hips.

_**»§«**_

Little did they know that the small pin camera that was located in the middle of the large room, attached to the ceiling, was watching their every move.

Trigon, within Slade's body, had become formidable. Everything Slade once knew, was now Trigon's. This included the plan and ideas for overthrowing the Titans, as well as Slade's paranoia. Trigon had changed Slade's wardrobe as well. He no longer donned the bronze and black suit and helmet. He now wore colors that would match his original demonic armor, deep black with a dark red hue. He also had a matching helmet, with two eye holes on the left side where his demonic red eyes shone through. The one thing that Trigon had despised about taking over Slade, the lack of both eyes, he felt it would hinder him in battle.

Slade's traditional bo staff had been changed out for one made of what appeared to be obsidian and roughly seven feet long. This new weapon which weighed more than any man could hold, was wielded expertly by Trigon in Slade's body, and could handle energy imbuements, as well as being wrapped in flames and used as a magic staff to hone the torrent.

The camera was being watched by Trigon and five fire demons. These demons were smaller, dark incarnations of what you see in nightmares. They spoke only in demonic and were Trigon's top commanders.

Many people thought demons were just ravenous creatures with a sense of 'dog eat dog'. This was partly true, but there was always a leader. Someone had to hold the reins while the rest mauled each other. Trigon was this rein holder.

"Do not do anything, let them look." He said in demonic.

"As you wish, Master," The middle most one said.

"When they find nothing, they will leave, and we can level the plant."

"Why not just level it now and take them with it?"

"Not all of them are there. My daughter and the changeling are missing."

"Shall we go find them, my lord?" The one on the side with a vicious looking helmet, asked.

"No. Leave them for now. We watch."

_**»§«**_

"Star, I found an entrance."

"Where, Robin?"

"Other side of the building from where we are, can you lift us over there?"

She nodded, grabbing him under the arms and lifting off to the other side of the building. Robin and Starfire were going to be searching the top layers of the building, as the main room took up where floors one to three would be, though floors four and five were still there, and usually reserved for management.

The top floors were just as dusty as the lower one. Robin and Starfire searched the walls and desks for hidden switches, thinking perhaps there was a hidden entrance to his lair. Skimming the desks and broken furniture scattered through the room, Robin saw nothing. He was frustrated.

"How come all the leads I ever get for Slade, end up as dead ends?"

"Please, Robin, the end is not dead. There will be something here for you to find."

"No. He's covered his tracks, or he wasn't here to begin with."

His communicator began to buzz. He had it turned to silent as it would give him away if he was in the company of an enemy. He grabbed it from his belt and flipped it open.

"Report."

"We're here on the ground level, there's nothing, though the building still has power."

"It could still have power even if it's abandoned. They sometimes forget to shut off the power, and since no one is here using power it doesn't show up on their records."

"Either way, it's apparent no one has been here. There are some dusty footsteps, but it could be from some kids breaking in," Cyborg reasoned.

"Alright, Star and I will finish up here and we'll meet back on the hill."

"Right, Cyborg out."

Robin turned his attention back to his girlfriend, "Did you find anything, Star?"

"No, Robin. There appears to be nothing of interest here."

"Alright, it's time for us to leave then… Damn, I was really hoping we could find out what Slade was up to here."

"You will find him, Robin. Do not worry yourself."

"Let's head back now."

Starfire nodded and followed him, back out to the roof, where she picked him up flew off.

Cyborg and Jinx stared around the room for a few minutes even after hearing from Robin to gather on the hill. Nothing moved, no sounds were made, the only thing that could be heard was the dull ringing of the florescent lights.

"Jinxie, let's go."

"Since when did I get a pet name?"

"Since you joined the Titans, now shut off those lights and let's go."

The two walked back out the door they came in. Jinx paused for only a second to turn off the lights before following in Cyborg's footsteps and walking out the door, making sure to close it quietly behind her.

Back on the hill, Raven could sense the team beginning to return, and slowly stood up. Beast Boy saw her doing so and stood up as well. Not a minute later, Starfire and Robin dropped from the sky.

"See anything while we were going inside?" Robin asked.

"Nothing, it was quiet." Raven answered.

"Well, we found nothing up on the top floors, it was clean."

"What about Cy and Jinx?" Beast Boy asked.

"As far as I know, they said they found nothing, except some footprints."

"Do we know whose footprints?"

"No," Robin sighed, "They could be from anyone."

"So we're no closer than we were when we came here?"

"No." Robin answered, hanging his head.

Cyborg and Jinx made their way up the hill to where the rest of their team was waiting, slower than Robin and Starfire, as they could fly. It was getting closer to morning, and the Titans didn't want to be there

"Hope you guys weren't waiting on us very long," Jinx said.

"No, only a couple minutes, you guys find anything besides those footsteps?"

"No, I thought it was odd that it still has power though… Tin head here doesn't agree," Jinx mentioned, crossing her arms.

"Well, this is where Mallah told us they were told to bring the converter. I've been able to scan the building, and while I don't see anything, from out here, there's residual power all around."

"I doubt he was lying."

"I believe he had no reason to lie, he would not have told you where the plant is and that the Brotherhood of Evil was watching it if he believed that he was wrong."

"Good point Starfire, maybe we were just too late. Once they brought the converter, Slade must have emptied this place out."

"Shall we go back to the Tower?" Raven asked, obviously tired of being outside.

"Yes, we don't have much choice. There's nothing here to support the fact that Slade was here."

Right as they were about to leave, Robin's communicator began to beep. He took it off his belt once more and looked up at the Titans. He flipped it open and was met with a fuzzy picture, as if to hide an identity.

"Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"It doesn't matter. We need to talk."

"No, it does. You tell me who you are, or this conversation is over."

The line was quiet for a few moments. The Titans looked intently at the screen and at Robin. A sigh was heard on the other line.

"Do you want information about Slade?"

Robin's expression didn't change, he desperately wanted to, but he wasn't about to blindly make a deal with someone or agree to meet someone somewhere without basic information. "Who are you?"

"Someone who hates Slade, as much as you do. I believe you're familiar with the old proverb."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"That would be the one."

_**»§«**_

Slade was again floating in the black abyss, as he had been before, in his first nightmare. This seemed the exact same as the first. This time though, upon looking down, he could see his hands, chained together, with a fiery red barb. He was unable to move, and he felt as though he was overwhelmed. He began to struggle, trying to break the barb, and only succeeded in denting his wrist plates.

"It's useless to fight it."

"What the hell did you do? Imprison me inside my own mind? I did everything you asked, and this is how I am rewarded?" Slade spat at Trigon.

"Close, I actually imprisoned you inside my mind, and you are still alive, are you not?"

Trigon had to keep him distracted, which would not be an easy feat. Trigon had amassed enough power to flatten dimensions and worlds, but could not use it inside his own mind. Unlike Raven, who was half human and could use her powers limitelessly inside her own mind, Trigon's full demon DNA prevented it. He would have to outsmart Slade.

"Tell me about yourself, Slade."

Slade stopped struggling for a second, and began to stare intently at Trigon.

"I will not play your mind games, Trigon."

"You will, or I will hunt down your daughter."

"She's no fool. You'll be overwhelmed by..."

"By who? The Titans? My foolish daughter?"

"Them, and mine."

"Ravager is capable, yes. With the injections you gave her, she could have easily overpowered you, if you had not been in the military and learned the tactics of war and human psychology."

"Shutup."

"Tell me about your wife, Slade."

"Go to hell."

"You mean back where I came from? No, I believe it is time for this realm to fall."

"If I had known you were going..."

"You knew. Don't forget Slade, I'm in your head as well. You craved the power, at any cost, to eliminate the Titans once and for all. Now I will do so, and you will no longer have to worry about them, or yourself for that matter."

Slade started struggling with his bindings again, he was shearing the armor plating he had on his wrists, and blood was seeping through. 'I'll cut off my own arm and beat him to death with it if it comes to that.'

"Oh my, angry are we?" Trigon antagonized.

"What do you want?" Slade was now aware that Trigon was able to read his mind, and was focusing now on keeping his mind busy so he didn't let anything slip.

"To know how to shut down the additions to the converter you stole."

"If you're inside my head, why don't you tell me?" Slade shot back. "If it isn't in my head, then why don't you tell me what I don't know?"

"So then it was Chang."

"It must have been." Slade knew that Trigon wanted to know how to shut off the security protocols and fail-safes. Which he did not know, on purpose. He had given Chang free rein on that tid-bit, as a backup plan in case something like this happened. He was hoping that the Professor would have outlived his usefulness and he would be dead, but that didn't happen. The fail-safes should activate relatively soon, and then Trigon would be stranded.

"Very well," Trigon vanished, leaving Slade to fight his bonds. He had to break out, he had to find Chang. Slade's mind was working overtime, 'Are these really physical bonds?'

Slade went through his mind, what would Trigon use within his own mind to trap him. Then it hit him, Trigon had already given him a clue, regardless of whether he did on accident or not. His wife. She had been killed and he never forgave himself for it.

Slade hung his head, no longer struggling against his bonds. 'I'm sorry, Adeline.'

Slowly the bonds released him, into a freefall.


	9. Chapter 9: The Enemy of my Enemy

_**A/N: We're coming down to the last 4-5 Chapters. Everything will be coming together! Feel free to guess what will happen!**_

_**Disclaimer:**__** I do not own the Teen Titans, or anything for that matter.**_

_**Chapter 9: The Enemy of my Enemy...**_

"I'm sorry, Adeline..."

Once Slade was able to overcome his past, he was set free. The bond within his mind were those of emotional ones, heavy to bear, and even harder to accept. He had overcome these particular ones, he was able to forgive himself for what happened in his past.

Falling from his fiery barbed bonds, he quickly righted himself so that he could see where he was falling. The black abyss rocketed past him, as though air existed within his own mind, or maybe he had created it so he could accept he was falling.

Suddenly, the abyss gained a shot of color, a ground was coming into vision, a town, which appeared to be Jump City. He was free-falling fast towards the ground. He was aiming to land in the center of the city. Slade would have been a bit frightened of falling this far, but he was within his own mind. He couldn't die from normal means.

He plummeted the last fifty feet, crashing down on the pavement, landing on his feet. The ground shook and dust scattered. Slade rose, and began looking around.

"I didn't think you'd manage this quickly..."

"I believe you'll find that I can surprise even you, Trigon," being free from his bonds, Slade was now back to his cocky attitude, no longer needing to worry about his Soul-self being shattered, as if Trigon was able to, he would have done so already.

"You won't escape."

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

Slade began to walk around, ignoring Trigon. He walked down the main street, he found the town deserted, and destroyed. Cars lined the street, some with doors open. A thin layer of dust coated everything in sight, as if no one had disturbed it in centuries.

Slade turned the Trigon, who was watching him closely. "This is what you hope to happen, isn't it?"

"Very astute, Slade."

"So you wish to see the city destroyed? I must applaud you. It is far better than I wish."

"I know. As I said, I'm within your mind. Though you wish to take over the town, they will never serve you," Trigon said.

"Silly demons."

"What?"

"I do not wish to take over the town to have the people serve me. That would be too typical. I merely want to steal their money and valuables, and remove the Titans from their grace."

"Ah, worldly possesions, which will do you no good now."

"You seem to be very cocky, Trigon. Are you so sure you have won?"

Slade walked down the street, being followed closely by Trigon. Slade took in the town, the pizza joint, the stores, the capital building at the end of the street near the round-a-bout. All destroyed by what appeared to be a meteor. Walking amongst the town, Slade began to think differently. 'Is this what I really want to happen?'

"No, you don't, but I do."

"Aside from being a demon, what possible reason could you have?"

Trigon remained silent, following behind Slade as he wandered through the town. He began to think of possible reasons that Trigon could want the whole city burned to the ground. None came to mind aside from revenge, which played a huge part in a demon's mind.

"Your daughter," Slade mentioned.

Trigon remained silent, still. Refusing to answer, knowing that Slade was getting closer to figuring out one of the ways to escape. All he had to do was break down Trigon's vision and reasoning and find the door. The door was a way out, which would give Slade access to his faculties again. If Slade was able to take control of his body again, Trigon could, possibly be forced out.

The easiest way to prevent this was to give no clues, and not speak, though he should monitor. If Slade got too close, Trigon may be able to steer him away from the door. He knew Slade was no stooge, tricking him would be no simple matter. If worse, came to worse, he could engage Slade's form in his own mind. It would take a lot of power, though it might be possible to re-restrain Slade in another hidden memory.

"Your daughter is one of the reasons," Slade began, stopping and turning to face Trigon, "You hate her more than anything, she stopped you from returning the first time."

Trigon's face showed no emotion, and he refused to show any movement. He stood as though he was a statue. Slade stared at him, "There's a way out, just like from the bonds, there's another memory out of this."

'He's quick, I'll give him that,' Trigon thought.

Slade just needed to figure out where the door would be. Trigon admitted he was fguring this out quickly, but he would have to figure out where the source of the problem was.

"She was always a problem for you, and you turned her into a portal, but where did you do that..."

'If he finds the door, I will need to force him back into bonds, and figure out a way to change the door.'

Trigon decided that it was time to leave Slade and re-discover his past, to search for a new way to bond him. With a final glance, he left, dissipating his image. Slade was now left to roam the city, without being able to bounce his ideas of anyone. This was frustrating as he usually always had someone to listen to him. He didn't enjoy having anyone around, as he disliked people in general, but some had kept him happy. Wintergreen was one such person. He had the utmost respect for him, and vice versa. Wintergreen was always around to listen to him and to help him polish his other was his daughter, Rose. She was there even after everything that happened. Loyal to him, until death. He would never let that happen, though. Many parents would take a bullet for any of their children, Slade was more particular. Rose had hearned his respect, and if she figured out what had happened to him, Trigon would be in trouble.

Rose was a killer, taught first hand by Slade, and many others in different martial arts, as well as weapons. Like her father, she was a weaponmaster, though prefers the Katana, where-as Slade prefered a bo staff. She would figure out that Trigon was in Slade's mind very quickly, and she would help him however she deemed possible.

Slade's mind was focused now on escape, being able to break free in any way, even if it was only long enough to get a message out. 'Where would Trigon have lost to the Titans...? Well, the only logical place is the tower.'

Slade figured mostly that if Trigon had lost anywhere, it would have been on the home playing field of the Titans. He turned towards the bay, and saw the dilapitated building that couldn't be mistaken. The 'T' was now in the shape of an 'L', the top left half having been blown away. It would take Slade more time than he deemed necessary to run there. He found the first car that was in decent shape, broke the window, and began to hotwire it. It was an old gray mustang that was parted outside the Italian restauraunt in the center of town.

The car roared to life, Slade hadn't driven in a long time. Not since he gave up being Deathstroke and managed to stay hidden, before taking on the disguise of 'Slade'. He put the car into first and it slowly moved forward. The car had a flat back left tire, and the fanbelt was loud, but Slade wan't in real danger, so he put his foot down and headed for the bay.

He passed all the broken down shops. Bookstores, ice cream shops, restauraunts, gas stations, everything was broken down, everything was ruined. No bodies could be seen. Slade could only assume that either, it had been a very long time and they had all decayed, or they had been taken. Slade assumed neither, as it was Trigon's vision of Jump City, and it just wasn't populated becuase that's how Trigon would want it.

He arrived, after having another tire pop, at the tunnel which lead to the underground garage and ran under the bay. Slade pulled the car into the garage, and saw that it was empty. The ground and walls were stung with what looked to be a major battle. Slade had no idea where he would find the exit within the tower. He was not there and sadly, with all his resources he wasn't able to see into the tower at the time of Raven becoming the portal.

'Nothing to lose, might as well wander.'

Slade had been to the tower before both in a 3D diagram, as well as inside on a couple seperate occasions upon attacking the Titans. He knew about their common room and where their rooms are, but he expected that Robin, like Batman would put everything important, buried away below.

He walked into the Tower and found the elevator. 'Too much to hope it still worked, huh?' he thought to himself. It might have been working if it was still intact. All that remained was the elvator shaft,the car had fallen to the bottom, which was five floors below. Slade didn't need to go up, so he began to deftly manuever his way down. Hopping onto the cable he slid down a floor or so to where the cable had snapped and jumped to the open door on B2. Since the tower had five basement levels, he had to find a way down that would also let him search. He figured going down the halls and finding a staircase would work better for him, than trying to jump to the bottom and make his way back up.

Slade walked down the hallway, looking left and right, trying to find anything worthwhile, but seeing only destroyed rooms and no staircases.

Trigon had been monitoring Slade, watching his every move. 'He's getting close.' Trigon reformed his image behind Slade, and spoke up.

"What do you seek?"

Slade, expected to hear from Trigon when he got too close to the exit, had a smile on his face under his mask. "I was waiting for you to show up. You must be nervous."

Slade had been able to maintain his cocky attitude. He was a smart man, very clever, and outsmarting 'Trigon the Terrible' made him smile.

"You give yourself too much credit, Slade."

"Or maybe I give myself just enough credit," Slade said, able to see a way down to the next level.

He walked downstairs, now confident that he was in the right place, as if he was not, Trigon would not have wasted his time showing up to try and dissuade him from going farther down.

"You seek an exit?"

"I'm astounded you figured that out, Trigon." Slade sneered.

Trigon was beginning to regret the person he had taken control of. It would have been easier to take someone of weaker mind, though the doctor that was with Slade when he returned, wasn't worth his time. In the end he could have killed them both and remained in his natural form, though if he did and was defeated, that was the end. While within someone's mind, he would be able to let them die and reform his body to continue the fight.

Slade wandered down to the next level. The stairs weren't out, so he continued down past B3 to B4. The path leading down to B5, was completely blocked, and though Slade could clear it out, it would take very long and there had to be an easier way to go down.

Slade opened the door and exited the stairwell. Trigon still behind him, following his every move. He could make his form, which was at this point was just an image, solid so that he could attack Slade, but if he lost, he would be removed from his mind. Trigon was not willing to take the risk of fighting Slade. He was at a disadvantage, as it was not his mind. He had searched and the only way to rebind Slade, would be to use a memory of his daughter, though it would not hold him for long, and only prove to show Slade how close he was.

If he let Slade escape, they would ride shotgun to each other, within Slade's mind, it could play to Trigon's benefit. It could also spell the doom of Trigon within this realm. He had to play it safe, fighting Slade now was a risk, where as giving him the little control he would earn from finding an exit, was a minor inconvience.

Slade was only one level off of the door. There was, on B5, a room where Raven had been when she became the portal. In the back of the room, there was a new doorway, a wooden door, with an engraving of a creature that resembled a Raven, as well as a phoenix. All Slade had to do was walk up to it and open it.

Wandering around B4, Slade found a hole down one hallway, which was the floor Robin had used to store all the villain's equipment. All of it was broken, and wouldn't function, so it was of no use, and Slade didn't give it a second look. Walking further down the hallway, and finding a hole in the floor, he began to maneuver his way down to B5. Aside from the caved in ceiling, everything else was immaculate. The floors appeared as though they had just been polished. B5 was one of the places that the Titans had rarely used. It was a place that held very dangerous artifacts, as well as rooms where Titans who could cause problems had lock-up rooms, such as Raven and Beast Boy.

Slade made his way down the hallway, looking into the rooms as he passed. He was going to ignore Trigon, at all costs and hopefully find the exit soon enough. The hallway seemed endless, Slade walked for what seemed like miles before coming to a hallway with a red glow seeping from the edges. He approached the door cautiously. He wasn't sure if Trigon would make an attempt at stopping him, but he wasn't going to stop even if he did. This had to be the way out.

Slowly, Slade opened the door, the room inside was bathed in the red glow. It was a small room, with a disturbing burn mark on the floor, right in the middle. At the rear of the room, there stood another door, with beams of white light striking out from its cracks. Slade moved cautiously into the room, an uneasy feeling swelling up in his gut.

"Ah, I see you found the door."

Slade turned around, to see Trigon standing behind him, "Yes, and I plan to leave."

"Sadly, you can never leave."

Slade walked a few steps backwards towards the door, "Who says?"

"I do."

"You don't have control over me, not as much as you think you do."

"I can contain you in here, even if you do escape. You won't be able to retain control."

"Even so, you won't be able to either," Slade commented.

Trigon remained silent, had he actually figured out the whole plan? Slade was cunning, but if he figured out the whole idea behind emotional bonds it could mean that Trigon could be evicted if he figured out any more.

Trigon had been deep in thought and missed Slade slowly inching his way backwards towards the door. He touched the handle, slowly twisting it. He then turned around, facing the door and quickly opened it. He was bathed in white light, and then for him, all went black.

_**»§«**_

_"The enemy of my enemy…"_

_"Is my friend," Robin finished._

_"That's right, Robin."_

_"What do you want?"_

_"Meet me."_

_"Why?"_

_"I have a proposition for you."_

_"I doubt you have anything that could interest us."_

_"I have information on Slade."_

_Robin fell silent. He was desperate for information. The power plant had turned up nothing aside from the fact that Slade may have at one point been there. "Where?" Robin finally responded._

_"At the tower."_

_"You'll never get in the tower without one of us."_

_"I'll take that as a bet," with that, the person on the other side of the line hung up._

_"Lets get back there, we can't let whoever this is break into the tower."_

_The rest of the Titans nodded silently, closing in on Raven. She engulfed the team once more, and they disappeared into the abyss. _

_Reappearing in the common room of the tower, Raven began to fall over. Beast Boy quickly caught her, "Robin!"_

_"Take her to her room."_

_Beast Boy nodded and picked her up, bridal style, heading for the door. Everyone noticed she had fainted, but her arms found their way around his neck._

_"Any idea who this person is, Rob?" Cyborg asked._

_The rest of the Titans had taken seats in the common room, and Cyborg had escaped to the kitchen to begin cooking, breakfast was a Titan tradition._

_"I really have no idea," he answered, "put some bacon on for me."_

_Cyborg smiled and nodded, throwing a full package of bacon on his skillet. Everyone in the room seemed quiet, they were all deep in thought. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft breathing of the teens, and the sizzling bacon. Everyone in the room was worried that Slade would make a move before they could find out anything, and that he would remain one step ahead of them._

_"I figured you lot were quiet, but this is a whole new level," A window closing could be heard as this voice rang out._

_Everyone turned towards the window that opened and closed near the corner of the room. A girl was standing there, wearing an outfit similar to Slade's. The Titans had not fought her before, or even seen her before._

_Robin wasted no time. Noticing her outfit, he extended his bo staff and leapt at her. She deftly reached behind her quickly and unsheathed two katanas. She held one up as she knelt down, absorbing the blow from Robin's staff. As soon as his staff met her katana, she spun around and smacked him square in the temple with the hilt of her sword._

_Robin hadn't expected this, she moved almost instantly. He was knocked to the ground, the leader of the Titans defeated in one move. Cyborg had extended his arm and a cannon had formed, Starfire's hands were now glowing green with starbolts, and Jinx was up now as well, her hands glowing purple with a curse._

_The mystery woman acted without hesitation, she lunged at the remaining three, deftly slicing off Cyborg's cannon arm, and one of his legs at the same time. She flipped over him, coming down hard on Starfire, smashing both of her hilts into the Princess's shoulders, hitting two pressure points. She spun around after driving the hilts in, knocking Starfire in the stomach once to knock her aside and finish off the job. Jinx was the only one left standing. She shot off one curse, which was reflected by a katana right back at her. It smacked into her chest and she flew off her feet into the wall behind her, remaining stuck into the wall._

_The mystery girl sheathed her swords, satisfied that they were all down, and surprised with herself. If the Titans were this easy, she had wondered why her father hadn't had her do this sooner._

_Robin began to stir near the window. He rubbed his head where a bruise was going to be, and slowly tried to get up. She walked over to him and knelt down in front of him._

_"You know, I came here to help, but if you keep pushing me, I might just handle both you and the demon myself."_

_Robin looked up at her, "Who are you?"_

_"I'm the Ravager."_

_"The Ravager?"_

_"Yes."_

_"What do you want?"_

_"Well, I have some information for you, aside from that, I'd like to work together," she looked around the room, "It's apparent you need it."_

_Robin gritted his teeth, and pulled himself up. He hadn't put away his staff, and kept it out as a precaution, though he knew she was on a whole different level. He would have to train more once this was all over._

_"What information do you have?"_

_"Let's wait for the rest of your team to recover."_

_"Umm, hello! Not going to recover, you sliced off my arm and my leg!" Cyborg shouted angrily._

_"Ah right, you're a robot though, I'm sure you have replacement parts," She replied with a smile._

_Cyborg grumbled and started to pull himself towards his room so he could fix his limbs._

_"I cut them at the joints, so it should be easy to replace," Ravager told him as he was leaving._

_Jinx was the next to awaken, pulling herself out from her indent on the wall, and falling to her hands and knees on the floor. Robin rushed over and helped her up. "Are you alright?"_

_"Aside from a headache, I'm good," she responded._

_Robin nodded and moved her over to the couch and sat her down. He then saw Starfire and rushed over to her, she had two nasty bruises that were forming on her shoulders, and a final one in her gut. Robin looked over her, brushing a strand of hair from her face, and picked her up. He carried her over to the couch, and placed her down carefully next to Jinx, who was holding her head in her hands._

_"Robin, you and I can talk if you'd prefer they rest."_

_He hated her already, she wore Slade's colors. It was partly because it was Slade and partly because it reminded him of his uniform when he was with Slade. He had to listen to her though, if she had the ability to down all four of them without much effort, she could be useful, especially if she is sincere about helping._

_Through gritted teeth, Robin replied, "Yes. Follow me."_

_He walked, Ravager in tow, to the Ops room. Walking into the room, Robin took the chair at the head of the table, as he always did, and Ravager took the seat nearest to him._

_"So. You don't know who I am."_

_"No."_

_"Do you know who Slade is?"_

_"Deathstroke."_

_"Yes, but, I meant who he really is, his name. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out, Mr. Grayson?"_

_Robin's eyes went wide. He would never had figured that someone found out his identity, let alone kept it quiet._

_She saw him starting to panic, "Don't worry, I'm the only one who knows, and I have no interest in outing you."_

_"His name is Slade Wilson," Robin responded softly, the blow of his cover being blow still sinking in._

_"That's right. I'm his daughter, Rose Wilson."_

_Robin quickly perked up, "You're his daughter?!"_

_"Yes, and we have a mutual hatred for him, on top of that, he's in trouble."_

_"And? Why should I help him?"_

_"Because that's what you do, as Titans. Don't tell me you'd forsake someone, even if they'd committed a crime."_

_Robin had to think for a bit, even if it was Slade, would he rescue him? Or even help him? "You're right."_

_She smiled, "Alright, then I have some information, and I'd also like to work together. I'm not asking to join the Titans. I mean, after what I just did back there, no one is going to like it. Which reminds me, I thought there were six of you now."_

_Robin thought for a minute, and decided to change the subject, "What information do you have?"_

_Ravager noticed the change, but didn't care much. She knew Raven and Beast Boy had left moments before. "Well, you were tracking down parts, right?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Those parts were used to build a Rift Generator."_

_"A Rift Generator?"_

_"Yes, basically it ripped a hole in the fabric of space and time and allowed something to come through."_

_"Do you know what came through?"_

_"I just happened to make a capture before I called you, a certain professor."_

_"Chang?"_

_"Yep. Caught him and he told me all about it. However, my father was taken control of by this demon. I only had one word to go on from Chang. Trigon."_

_"Trigon?! That's Raven's father, he's bad news."_

_"Yeah, I know, which is why I'm here. I don't think I could take him myself, and having people to back me up would be great."_

_Robin thought very hard about this. She was going after a villain to stop him, and to protect her father, he had to ask._

_"Why are you doing all of this?"_

_"A destroyed world is one I can't inhabit. I have no interest in seeing this world burn."_

_Robin nodded, "If you're looking for help, we'll give it."_

_She smiled again, it was going to be awesome to work alongside the Titans. Her father had always told her that they were the bad guys, and that she was take them down without hesitation. She could have killed all four of the Titans that had been in the room, but hadn't. She couldn't. They were good guys, always helping people, something she had wanted to do. Maybe after all of this was over, she would be allowed to stay._

_Her thoughts were disturbed by the phone ringing, Robin quickly got up and walked to the computer that was on the wall. He clicked a few buttons and Mark's face appeared on the screen._

_"Hey Robin!"_

_"Hey Mark, how's it going?"_

_"Great! I know this might not be a great time, but we got a lock on the tracker from the converter."_

_"Where?!"_

_"Well that's the problem."_

_"What?"_

_"It's in Paris, apparently at the Eiffel Tower."_

_"You're kidding."_

_"No, sadly. It's registering about five hundred feet under the tower. We don't know what happened, it just sort of turned on."_

_"It's a trap," Ravager spoke up._

_Mark looked over at her, noticing her for the first time. "Oh, hello. I don't think we've met."_

_"Ravager, nice to meet you."_

_"Likewise." He turned his attention back to Robin and finished, "That's all we have, you can do with that information as you please. I've got to run though. Give my regards to the team!"_

_The video cut and the room was silent again._

_"We have to go."_

_"I can go check it for you," Ravager suggested._

_"No, we'll all go."_

_"Raven and Beast Boy too?"_

_"No, I need Raven to rest."_

_"Well, Beast Boy should be fine to go. We need everyone we can take."_

_"I can only ask him, he wouldn't leave her side if the end of the world was coming."_

_"Why not?"_

_Robin began to walk from the room, with Ravager on his heels, "Because I wouldn't if it was Starfire."_

_**»§«**_

_**Earlier that day**_

_Trigon was still in control, as he made his way to Paris. He had the transmitter from the converter, which his commanders had inspected and located. It was currently off, though as he made his way to the base of the Brotherhood of Evil, his mind was running at a thousand miles per minute. It would be easy to lure out the Titans and show them his true power. _

_A few hours later, his jet landed in Paris, and he teleported almost at once for a back alley near the Eiffel Tower. It would have drained too much power to merely have teleported from Jump City, but being closer would be nothing._

_Within the alley, was a dead-end, the back wall of it was void of any blemishes and Trigon knew this is what he had come to find. He raised his arm, runes covering it, and shot a torrent of energy at the wall. Out on the street the dust and debris shot out. Trigon had found the secret base. He walked in with purpose. He was going to eliminate them once and for all. He had no need for them anymore, and they knew of his plans._

_The base was reminiscent of a temple from an old movie. Torches lined the walls and the ground and walls were covered in a brownish stone. Guards weren't anywhere to be seen, even though the second he blew open the door, the alarms had sounded and were continually shouting for help. Trigon knew where he was going; he was going to the bottom most level. He was here to eliminate the Brotherhood, but most importantly, to kill the Brain. _

_He had been the one that Slade had confided most of the details of his plan to. If the Brain was careless and told more, then his plan was compromised. It was to be solved easily, he would find The Brain, and create a nova within the base._

_He had every intent of being captured and brought before The Brain, which would soon occur, as Madame Rouge and General Immortus' Robots made an appearance. _

_"About time, I figured I'd have to wander throughout this disgusting base for hours before I was found," Trigon said cockily._

_"We knew you were here from the moment you walked down the alley," Rouge responded._

_"I see," Trigon responded, obviously satisfied they didn't see him teleport._

_"Come, we're going to see the Brain. He wishes to have a word with you."_

_Trigon kept quiet as the robots surrounded him and Rouge turned to lead him. He did as he was asked, as he wanted to make sure his nova would kill the Brain first. They walked for a few minutes before reaching an elevator, which he and Rouge got into. The Robots remained outside, and Trigon was curious. _

_"Do you not fear me?"_

_"No."_

_"I know your healing powers are strong, but what if you lose your head?"_

_She frowned and looked at him, "No need to sever my head, as it will most likely grow back."_

_They kept quiet the rest of the way down. The elevator seemed to have passed at least fifteen floors. When it finally dinged, indicating they were on the right floor, the two exited and walked down a small hallway which opened up into a cavernous room. The walls were lined with torches and there was a desk on an elevated platform at the end. Behind the desk hung a banner, red, with a black and gold skull with a brain encased in it._

_Trigon recognized it as the Brotherhood of Evil's banner, from Slade's memories. At the desk, was a robot, which looked almost exactly like the banner._

_"Welcome, Slade."_

_"Figured it wouldn't have the "Temple of Doom" feel," Trigon said, trying to act like Slade._

_"Very funny, what do you want? Why have you broken into my base?"_

_"Oh, to destroy you."_

_"You alone? Don't make me laugh."_

_"I have no intention of making you laugh."_

_Brain and Rouge were silent. Rouge had taken a fighting stance, and was prepared to subdue Slade._

_"You cannot think to destroy this whole base on your own, let alone all of my generals and robots."_

_"I do."_

_Trigon balled his hands up into fists and brought them up to his chest. He chanted "Gehennæ ignis creare nova!"_

_He slammed his fists together, as they glowed a deep orange. At that moment, the energy expended from the blast, could be equivalent to a nuclear explosion. The room in which they were, was incinerated, with heat that rivaled the sun. The fire shot up the elevator shaft and out through each level, subsequently taking down every robot within the complex. After the blast subsided, Trigon walked up the stairs. _

_"You.."_

_"That's right, I'm not Slade."_

_"You're…"_

_"Trigon."_

_The Brain was dying. His armor plating had saved him from most of the damage, but the glass that had been on top protecting him had melted and parts of his brain were burnt._

_"You'll never…"_

_"I'll never, what? Win? I already have. With you out of the way, all I have left are those pesky Titans."_

_"They… will stop you…"_

_"HAHAHAHAHA! The Titans? Stop me? That will never happen. Enjoy your slow death, Brain."_

_He tossed something that was blinking at the Brain and vanished. The Brain, left to die slowly. What seemed like hours passed for him, he could feel the dark encroaching on his vision, this was the end._

_"He's over here!" Someone shouted._

_**»§«**_

_The Titans, after recovering, and Ravager, after apologizing to them, made their way to the enhanced T-Ship. Cyborg had been working on it since Jinx joined the group. The original five seats remained where they had been, but a sixth addition was made, which resembled a smaller version of an AC-130 Specter Gunship. The Titans and Ravager loaded into the ship. They were heading for Paris. With the T-ships new engines it wouldn't take very long. If they had been using an average airplane, it would have taken well over ten hours._

_The modifications made to the T-ship enabled it to go extremely fast, cutting the trip down to four hours. If they hurried they might be able to reach the base before anyone else is able to track down the signal from their tracker._

_The flight was relatively quiet. Ravager sat and talked with Robin and Starfire about her swords and her fighting style, while Jinx and Cyborg were at the controls and handling the flight and the AI controlling the plane when they weren't there. _

_After three hours and thirty minutes, which was exactly what Cyborg had calculated, they had landed in Paris. They departed their T-ship, which would be maintained (The Titans are known across the globe as superheroes and are afforded certain benefits) for them while they were away on duty._

_They had to search around the Eiffel tower to find the entry, and Robin figured they would find the entry eventually. He figured that this was some sort of base, perhaps Slade's main base. They made their way, courtesy of Jinx and Starfire carrying them, to the Eiffel tower, which wasn't very far from the airport they had landed at._

_The group flew into the middle of the Champ De Mars, which was the public greenspace, or park that housed the Eiffel tower. Landing in the center, near the tower, the group noticed a back alley nearby that had smoke rising from it and was surrounded by police. _

_They ran over to the police and Jinx walked up to the man who looked in charge and asked, "Nous super-héros que nous pouvons passer à travers?"_

_He nodded and the group walked past, everyone was surprised that Jinx knew French. They rushed past, headed towards the end of the alleyway, passing bricks and debris that had been thrown out from an explosion. The group made their way inside, finding little left. The walls were scarred and the floors were showing signs of fire damage. They kept low, as smoke was still billowing out from the fires that raged throughout the complex. The only way down that could be seen was the elevator shaft, they had passed it before, but kept going as smoke was coming from it, only to find a dead end. _

_"We need you guys to lower us down, a jump like that would surely kill us. We can't even see the bottom because of the smoke," Robin said._

_Starfire and Jinx nodded, grabbing the members. Jinx took Cyborg, while Starfire took Robin and Ravager. They slowly lowered themselves down, coughing all the while. Floor after floor of crumbling material passed in front of them. _

_The bottom was coming up, they could tell because it was getting hotter. The source of the smoke was below them, a raging fire right near the exit._

_"Drop me," Ravager said._

_Starfire looked at her, but Robin nodded as well._

_She let go of Ravager who fell the last ten feet to the ground, and in a flash, pulled out her swords and swung with a speed that was almost impossible to see._

_The air buffeted the fire, which was subsequently suffocated and put out. The rest of the team landed moments after Ravager had. _

_"Nice trick," Robin commented._

_"I've seen you do the same, with your cape," she said._

_Robin grinned and walked out of the elevator shaft, with the team behind him. They emerged into a long hallway that was completely burnt, the color of charcoal. They walked cautiously to the end, which opened into a huge room. The room was in shambles. Everything was burn, robot parts were scattered around, as well as chunks of the wall and ceiling. There was a small piece of fabric stuck to the wall, which had a black and gold skull embroidered on it. Robin recognized it immediately._

_"This is the Brotherhood of Evil's base."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"I'll never forget that emblem," he said, pointing to the wall._

_"That means this is their main headquarters… I remember Beast Boy saying that the Doom Patrol had rooted them out of America," Cyborg said._

_"That means, the Brain might still be here," Jinx said._

_"Titans, split up and look for him."_

_The group spread out, searching for anything. Pulling up rubble and searching behind broken walls. Just then, Ravager called out, "He's over here!"_

_The rest of the Titans rushed over, Robin being the first to reach them._

_"Brain, what happened here?"_

_"Slade…"_

_"What did he do?"_

_"He… blew… up… everything…"_

_"Slade couldn't do this, could he?" Robin asked Ravager._

_"He could, if he gained the power I suspect he did."_

_"Please…" The Brain started to say, "Help… me…"_

_Robin looked up at Cyborg and he ran a quick scan. He slowly shook his head. The Brain was dying, and Cyborg couldn't do anything to stop it._

_"I'm sorry," Robin said._

_"Stop… Slade."_

_"That much, I can do."_

_The light that had been illuminating The Brain's brain slowly went out. The Brotherhood of Evil had been wiped out._

_"We're coming for you," Robin said to himself, standing up, the Titans forming at his back, as they walked back out towards the elevator._


	10. Chapter 10: Confrontation

_**A/N:**_ There are only a couple more chapters. I've been able to condense it into two more, one might be longer than usual, but it will be finished soon! Stay tuned.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own the Teen Titans.

_**Chapter 10: Confrontation**_

"Are you going to be alright, Rae?" Beast Boy asked, slowly setting her down on her bed.

"I just need to relax for a few minutes, and I should be."

Beast Boy was concerned about her. She was expelling more energy than usual, which could hurt her in the long run. She had been able to teleport the group how she did five or six times before she began to feel the effects before. Something was causing her to lose energy at an exorberant rate.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not really sure what he was asking.

"I'm just tired, it used up a lot of energy to teleport you guys."

Beast Boy watched her shift uneasily on her be, "I've seen you move us like that multiple times, seriously, what's up?"

Raven didn't want him to find out she was holding the energy back, and expelling it quietly whenever she felt any emotions, as opposed to siphoning it off to him.

"I'm... not siphoning off energy to you anymore."

"What? Why not?"

"I'm afraid."

"Of what? Giving me the energy lets you feel those emotions right?"

"Yeah, but I was worried about you."

"Dude, what? This stuff helps you, why not do it?"

"I don't know what could happen to you if you get too much energy."

"I'll become supercharged," he said, flexing his muscles.

Raven laughed slightly at the sight of him, "Calm down there, Rambo. I don't know what would happen to you, seriously."

"Well, why not try taking some?"

"What?"

"Well, you said I was like a battery," he said, taking a seat next to her on her bed.

"Yeah," she moved closer to him.

"So take some energy from me."

Raven hadn't considered this. If she was able to drain a bit back, she could also afford to put more in.

'Why didn't I think of that before.'

'Because you need some help sometimes,' Beast Boy responded, using the telepathic link that they shared.

She looked up into his eyes, falling deeper into his gaze, the forest green enveloping her in a blanket of saftey that only he could. She closed her eyes, it was painful to look away, though she knew what she needed to try and do. She closed her eyes and put her hand in his. She began to slowly mumble her mantra, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

Beast Boy felt a slight pull on his hand as Raven slowly drained just a tiny bit of energy. She was merely testing how it would affect him, and how much it would help her. Her power slowly returned to her. Reviving what energy she had lost made her feel a lot better, she wouldn't need to stay on the bed and rest. In fact, if she kept slowly draining, she would be able to restore herself to full.

"Is there any limit?" Beast Boy asked.

"I would assume so... though this is all untested."

"Have any books on it?"

"Aside from the one we both have, no. In fact, I'd never heard of it until I read it when I took that book from you."

"So we're in uncharted waters."

"Pretty much."

She was feeling a lot stronger now, and without having to worry about expelling more energy, she could funnel more into Beast Boy and take from him when she needed.

"I don't know if we need to be in contact for me to drain energy, considering that we don't when I siphon it off to you."

"Can we test that some way?"

"Well, I'm not at one hundred percent yet, so we can spread out a bit and see if I can still get energy."

"Why not, worth a try."

Beast Boy got up and walked over to the other side of the room. Raven crossed her legs in her signature lotus style. It was odd, she hadn't needed to meditate since she started dating Beast Boy. She had done it every day of her life since Azarath, yet for the past two days, the comfort and familiarity of meditation had become almost foreign.

She shook the wierdness from her head and commanded her focus on withdrawing energy from Beast Boy. Before it had been easy, draining from contact, all she had to do was think about it. Now she was going to have to locate Beast Boy within the void and then make a connection, and then draw the energy across the void.

It took nearly a minute before she was able to project herself to begin searching. Beast Boy kept quiet and didn't pester her, as he might have a few days ago. Raven noticed that he had a full change in his attitude. He was no longer the annoying kid that inhabited the child spot on the Titans. He was the quirky man who had stolen her heart with his kindess and persistance.

Locating his soul-self within the void, she was able to detect her energy circling around him. She reached out and created a link, a direct line. She forced it one way and began to slowly withdraw power. She focused intently on this process and when she felt that she had taken enough, she severed the link and returned to her body.

"So, I can drain..." Raven looked over at Beast Boy to notice him asleep in a chair. Apparently, he had fallen asleep during the time it took for her to make the connection.

She swung her legs off the bed, and stood up, making her way over to where Beast Boy was sleeping soundly. She knelt down, bringing her head to his level, and kissed him.

Beast Boy slowly began to return the kiss, waking up as he did. She pulled back and opened her eyes, now noticing that he was awake and smiled.

"What a way to wake up, you should do that more often."

Raven considered it, "I'll think about it."

Beast Boy smiled, "So, did it work?"

"Yeah, how long did it take?"

Beast Boy looked at the antique clock that Raven had on her nightstand, and responded "Over an hour."

"What, an hour?"

"Rae, I might be the king of the cat nap, but I wasn't in the form of a cat if you noticed."

Raven's face slackened, she just realised that this was too much time to be of any use in a battle, and the only way she could get power quickly was from contact.

Beast Boy had the look of someone who was deep in thought.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, I was just thinking... if holding hands could give you power quickly, what about more...?"

He had a point, its true that it may be like opening a door. Maybe if she was to have more contact with him it would increase the flow of energy. She nodded in agreement, willing to try it.

Beast Boy pulled Raven into his lap, so that she was making more contact with him. "Go ahead."

"No funny business," she added.

He held up two fingers, "Scouts honor."

"You were a scout?" She asked, skeptically.

"Well... No, but that isn't the point."

She grinned and closed her eyes, again, trying to pull energy from him. She had almost recovered all of it, but the last bit should be almost instantaneous. Not having to extend her soul-self this time, she began to drain right away and then couldn't drain any more a second later.

She opened her eyes and Beast Boy was staring back at her. "What?"

"That was fast, I'm done."

"So it does work better with more contact."

"Apparently so, which is good to know."

"Yeah, if you need me in a fight, " he pointed at his head, "call for me."

Raven nodded and got to move up. However, she was currently wrapped in a hug.

"Just don't go getting hurt, alright?" Beast Boy said, not letting go.

"No promises, but I'll try my best."

He nodded at her and let go. They both knew they were needed for the talks that were currently going on in the common room. Robin was most likely busy fuming over not finding a clue, while the rest of the team would be attempting to calm him down.

_**»§«**_

Robin was angry, they hadn't found anything at the plant, Slade killed all of the Brotherhood of Evil, and then his team had been single handedly beaten by Ravager. What did she need them for if they couldn't beat her?

"You need to calm down," Ravager said, reclining in her chair.

He had been pacing around the common room, visibly angry, and the rest of the team was sitting together in the kitchen, far enough away from Robin and Ravager.

He glared over at her, he was able to speak his mind now, "Why the hell do you need us, if you can take us down so easily?"

"I don't need all of you."

They just kept staring at her. She was answering as vaguely as possible.

"Who then?"

"I need Raven and Beast Boy."

Everyone was staring at Ravager now, unsure of why she would need them.

"What for?"

"Well, for starters, they're the most powerful."

"Raven I can understand, but Beast Boy?"

"Dude, so no cool," came Beast Boy's voice from the door of the room which had opened only a moment ago.

Robin raised his hand to the back of his head, rubbing it. "Uhh, sorry B."

"It's no big deal, Rob. I would have agreed with you up until recently."

Robin looked at Raven, then Ravager. Raven hadn't moved her eyes off of Ravager.

She put out her hand and encased Ravager in her energy, squeezing. She lifted her up and brought her over, "What do you want, and why are my friends bruised?"

"Well, I kicked their asses, that's why they're bruised, and I needed to talk to you, and your boyfriend here."

Ravager wasn't shaken up, or even showing signs of pain. Raven was holding her quite tightly, not concerned with a villain's welfare.

"What do you want from us?"

"I'd prefer to discuss that in private with the two of you."

Raven looked past Ravager and down to Robin, who nodded. He indicated to go and talk to her and then she could share what she learned with the team.

She continued to hold Ravager and turned to walk through the door, Beast Boy on her heels. Going through the door, she neglected to lower her captive and slammed her head into the doorframe.

"Oops, sorry."

Ravager did feel that, and grimmaced, but refrained from responding.

Raven carried her to the Ops Room. And then placed her in a chair at the table, binding her with energy and taking a seat herself. Beast Boy stood behind Raven, leaning against the wall.

"What?" She asked simply.

Ravager looked down, not wanting to make eye contact. She was about to do something that she never thought she would have to do. She was going to ask the one person that her father despised most, for help.

"I need your help."

"Why should I help you?"

"We share a common enemy. As I told Robin, "The enemy of my…"

"Enemy is my friend. Yes, I know the proverb. That still doesn't tell me why I should help you."

"It has to do with your father."

Raven's face changed instantly, she knew that he had returned, and that he had beefed up Slade, but what was he doing?

"What about him?"

"He's taken over my father."

"And who exactly are you?"

"Rose Wilson, Slade's daughter."

Beast Boy didn't move, nor did Raven. Neither knew what to say, neither knew what to do. A relative of Slade? They didn't even know Slade had been married, or even had family.

"Even if you are related to Slade, why do you need our help? We don't plan to save him."

"I know that. I'm not asking you to."

Raven was confused, if she came to ask for help with Slade, what else would she want to do besides save him?

"I needed your help specifically for this, Raven."

"Why?"

"You're the only one who can open a portal."

Raven looked at her quizzically, 'why would she need a portal?'

'Maybe it's just a last resort,' Beast Boy answered her through their link.

"I have had contact with someone who was on the inside."

"What do you mean, inside?" she asked.

"I've been in contact with someone who was working for my father, before he was taken over by yours."

"Who?"

"Professor Chang."

"Do you know where he is now?"

"Yes, and he's well hidden, even from your father."

"What information did he have to share?"

"Not much that we couldn't already guess, but he did shed light on the fact it was my father who was building the Rift generator. Once it was complete it was activated and demons came through, most notably, your father, Trigon."

Raven released the energy that was restraining Ravager. There was no point in holding her now. They were going to have to work together now, regardless of whether they wanted to or not. The price to pay for angering another person who could remove you if they disliked you was too high. The problem needed to stay focused on the fact that her father is back and needs to be stopped again.

"What's the plan?"

Beast Boy had moved from his position behind Raven, and was now sitting in the chair next to her. His hand was on her leg, which she had absentmindedly covered with her own hand.

'Everything alright?' he asked her.

'Not sure, my father coming back is bad.'

'We'll be fine.'

"Basically, we'll go confront him and you'll suck him up into a portal."

"That would be a bad idea."

"Why?"

"Well, first off, I won't be able to distinguish between friend and foe. In order to open a portal, at least one like what you're describing, I'll need to take on my demon form. Secondly, It won't be a portal like the one he came out of. The ones I open go straight to the void."

It was Ravager's turn to ask questions, "The void?"

"I take it you've heard of old Greek Mythology and the River of Styx?"

"To an extend, a river between the world and the underworld."

"Precisely. Basically it is one of the darkest, dismal places. Add in imaginable torment, and you have the void."

"So not a happy place, got it. Problem is, there is no other option."

"Perhaps there is..."

"What is it, Rae?" Beast Boy asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"You know how my powers work through a projection of my soul-self, right?" He nodded, "what if I fight my father's and attempt to remove it?"

"Are you sure that he has one?"

"It's the way demonic magic works, so I would assume he's using his soul-self to control Slade and has transformed his body into energy to maintain it."

Ravager looked as though she was considering it.

"If you'd rather I through your father into an abyss..."

"If you think you can do it, I'd appreciate an attempt."

Raven and Beast Boy shared a glance, how someone could consider sparing Slade's life was beyond them, but they didn't know Ravager or her situation, so they would refrain from judging. Raven was the first to move, she walked around the edge of the table over to Ravager and held out her hand.

Ravager looked down at her hand and grabbed it, shaking hands.

Never would anyone have forseen Raven going out and attempting to bridge gaps, but with her now dating Beast Boy, this might become a more common notion.

"Glad to see you two getting a long, but what is going on? You've been here talking for an hour."

"Sorry, Robin," Raven said.

Ravager had withdrawn her hand, while Raven retreated back to where Beast Boy was. Robin walked in and took a seat at the head of the table, so he had a view of both of them.

"What's the plan?" He said, focusing on Raven, not having forgiven Ravager for beating him in one hit.

"Firstly, Slade is being controlled by my father. Secondly, we need to move to the town and find him. Then I need you to buy me some time so I can use my powers to see if I can forcibly remove my father."

"Oh, so that's it?" Robin asked sarcastically.

Raven scowled, giving him a typical look, "Unless you want me to go by myself, use my demon form and hope that he's the only one I lock away."

Robin sighed, "You don't think we'll be able to stop him without one of these two methods?"

"Remember the last time?"

"Alright, you win. I'll ride shotgun on this one, you have control, Raven."

Robin got up and headed back out to the common room, where he would proceed to explain the situation to the rest of the team.

"We'll head out as soon as everyone is caught up and when we let them know you'll be joining us."

"Very well," Ravager responded.

"I expect you to do everything you can to help my team," Raven said, almost threateningly.

"I promise. You focus and do your thing and they'll be alright."

Raven nodded and turned to Beast Boy as Ravager headed out of the room, following Robin.

'We can't trust her, Rae.'

'I don't, but do we have any other options than to accept help from her? It's my father…'

'I know, I just hope she doesn't complicate things, or join his side.'

'We have no choice.'

The two conversing silently together linked hands and began to walk to the common room.

'I'll keep an eye on her while you do your thing, I think if it came down to it, I could take her down with Beast.'

'Alright, though I'd prefer if you didn't use Beast.'

'Why? If it's about trust, don't worry, I don't trust him either, but I feel as though since we've connected I would be able to maintain control of him.'

'Another risk, are we willing to take that?'

'I doubt I could take her without him, if she fights anything like Slade.'

'Well, I'll keep one on Slade and one on you,' Raven sent him, squeezing his hand.

"RAVEN! HURRY UP AND BRING BEAST BOY!" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs down the hallway.

Raven didn't even think, she just sank both herself and Beast Boy into the floor and reappeared in the common room around the rest of the team, and Ravager. She was looking up at the monitor, Slade was walking around, shooting off torrents of fire and energy just like the one he shot at Beast Boy. He was attacking cars, buildings, and even people who were too slow to get out of the line of fire. It was chaos, right in the middle of Jump City.

"What's the call, Raven?"

"Whoa, what Rob?" Cyborg said.

"I forgot to mention, this is Raven's command, follow her orders and protect her while she does her part."

Robin nodded to Raven, indicating that she had the reins.

"The plan is to go and control him for as long as possible, I'll remain hidden and attempt to oust Trigon from Slade. If we can't oust him, I'll have you guys evacuate everyone possible and I will use my demon form to throw him into an abyss."

"Sounds like a plan," Jinx said, who was planning on staying near Cyborg.

"Make sure you cover them, Ravager. If they're getting injured, I won't be able to focus on getting my father out."

Ravager nodded, it was time for her to play the good guy for once. She didn't dislike it, she had saved people before, not in the same costume of course, but this time would be different. Maybe if all worked out, she could do as Jinx did. Maybe the City would accept her, though she knew that the Titans may not.

'Now isn't the time for this, Rose. We have to focus on saving the city… and father…'

She got up and walked over to the Titans who had gathered around Raven now.

"Beast Boy and I have found a way for me to get energy quickly, so we're going to teleport in on a room nearby to where Slade is rampaging, you guys will go and I'll get some energy quickly then work on ousting Trigon. All set?"

"Sounds good."

"Booyah!"

"Let's do this."

Raven called up her soul-self and all of the Titans, including Ravager were swept up and carried out of the Tower.

_**»§«**_

Landing on top of the city capital building, just down the street from where Slade was, the group spread out and surveyed the damage.

It was catastrophic. Cars were on fire or flipped over and crushed, buildings were crumbling, yet people didn't seem to be in the streets, though blood could be seen. They carefully observed the area, looking for the slightest hint of movement, either to help someone or to begin their raid on Slade.

The moment that the group landed, Beast Boy grabbed Raven and held her, mostly holding her up, but also making a lot of contact with her as she could drain the reserve energy that he had stored up.

"There," Robin pointed down the street, which ran through the whole town, almost at the end, was a car being thrown. He leapt off, gliding using his cape, with Starfire, Cyborg, Jinx, and Ravager on his heels.

Beast Boy remained behind as to make sure that Raven was alright, then he would join the group. He was fairly confident that there were enough members of the Titans, plus Ravager, that Trigon in Slade's body would stand no chance.

Beast Boy glanced down at Raven, who was holding onto him, with her eyes open, though her pupils were gone, replaced by more white. It was creepy at first, since the last time she had drained energy, her eyes were closed.

"I'm not draining anymore, I finished a second ago…" she said faintly, her eyes still locked open and empty, "I'm searching for my father."

"How did you…"

"I read your mind on accident, sorry."

"No worries. Let me know if I can help."

"Just keep me up."

Raven had pulled her soul-self out of her body and had actually floated through his head, reading his thoughts. She then made a huge effort to transfer her words out of her own mouth, then satisfied that Beast Boy would remain there, she went in search of Slade.

'I heard them mention he was down the street, is he still there, Gar?'

'I don't know, but that's where the group headed.'

'Alright, I'll check it out, just stay there with my body.'

'Wait, with your body? You're not in it?'

'Soul-self projection, no I'm not. If anything happens to it I have nothing to return into and eventually I'll fade.'

'Right, so keep your body safe, got ya.'

'And no dirty thoughts, Mr. Logan.'

She didn't hear a response back except for some snickering. Was this really the time? Boys will be boys. Raven floated down the street, searching for her team, as well as for Slade. Finding one would definitely lead to finding the other. The streets were cluttered with broken cars, glass, and rubble. Parts were on fire and the oil that spread across the streets from some of the destroyed vehicles had caught flame and there were eerie circles of flame on the roads.

She floated past a side street and stopped for a second to look around.

"Look out!" Robin shouted at Starfire.

A grey mustang came flying through the air, partially crushed and shedding shrapnel, towards Raven. She held up her arms to shield herself, but nothing happened. The car flew right through her and she heaved a sigh of relief.

'That'll take some getting used to.'

'Did you find them?'

'Yes. I'll be trying to remove Trigon from Slade, so don't be worried if my body begins to chant.'

'Right… Be careful, Rachel…'

She was surprised at him using her real name, it was odd hearing it. She hadn't since her mother last spoke to her. It had a calming effect as she summoned forth energy to begin infiltrating Trigon's mind.

'I will,' was all she said as she pushed against the barrier separating the spirit world and Slade's mind. As she continued to put pressure on the barrier, she received flashes of what Slade was seeing, and thinking. None of it made much sense aside from what she was seeing a long side him, Jump City on fire, Titan Tower, a hallway, her father.

The wall protecting Slade's mind was mostly made up of Trigon's energy, which was slowly being whittled down. Raven would break through very soon, if she kept going.

"You fools, ENOUGH!" Slade's voice rang out.

He had been hit by a few of Starfire's star bolts, curses from Jinx, one sonic blast from Cyborg and multiple physical beatings from Robin's bo staff.

Trigon ignited a field of flame around Slade's body. He encased the energy into his right hand, and it funneled out into a beam. The beam began to solidify as his obsidian bo-staff came into existence.

"You fools will be destroyed along with this damnable city!"

"You won't get away with it. There are too many here to stop you, Trigon!" Cyborg yelled, while firing off another blast from his cannon which was deftly deflected.

The obsidian bo-staff made attacks against it almost useless. It was able to deflect incoming projectiles and also melee attacks from Robin. It was solid obsidian, an extremely heavy element, but Trigon was able to wield it with ease.

He swung it with purpose, never missing his mark. Whether it be a sonic cannon blast, a curse, a star bolt, or a birdarang, with the weapon in hand, Trigon was untouchable compared to before.

Robin was felled in one sweep. He had tried to attack Slade's legs and when his blow was blocked and countered, he attempted to leap back but was caught with an upswing from Slade's staff, knocking him back and breaking the skin.

Raven had to work faster to oust him, or he would cause some permanent damage that she wouldn't be able to heal. She pushed harder against the barrier, not making more process against it than she had before. Something was pushing back now, preventing her from breaking it.

'You won't get through, daughter.'

'Are you so sure?'

'Yes. I have this mortal completely controlled. You will not be able to stop me.'

Raven pushed again, this time using up a huge amount of her energy, to no avail. She wasn't going to be able to break in and help Slade fight against her father's hold. It was all up to Slade to break free, before she was able to throw him into the void.

'I'm coming back, Gar.'

'Is it over?'

'No, I can't break through.'

'Don't worry, we'll stop him.'

Raven turned and headed for her body, returning and finding herself was a lot easier, as she had memories and could look back through the eyes of her body to see where it was. It happened to be in the same place she had left it, still cradled in the arms of Beast Boy.

She returned down the street and up the building to the roof, where all she had to do was enter her own mind.

"Alright," Raven said, reassuming control of her body, and quietly taking some energy back from him, "Let's go join them and help."

Beast Boy nodded, turning into a Falcon and flying off, Raven following in the air behind him. It was easy for Beast Boy to find the group, as his sight in the form of a falcon was beyond perfect. He was able to spot them fighting in the alleyway and he swooped down to help.

Slade had been advancing on the position where Robin lay, obviously knocked out, though he had no idea why as he had not seen Slade's staff.

'I'm going to do an old favorite,' Beast Boy said, flying over where Slade was and transforming into a Blue Whale.

He plummeted the few hundred feet to the ground, the shadow on Slade increasing as size as he drew ever closer. Right as Beast Boy was about to crash down on Slade, the villain disappeared, and reappeared down the street, out of harm's way.

He crashed into the ground, creating a miniature earthquake, and then transformed back into his normal form.

"You deal with me now," Beast Boy said, looking more heroic than normal.

"You? Don't make me laugh. I will brush you aside like a gnat."

"Doubtful."

Beast Boy held his ground, not showing the fear on his face that was welling up inside him. He had seen Slade's staff now, and it was menacing. If it was true as well, Trigon was just messing with them, and hadn't used any powers aside from blowing up buildings.

'Take care of Robin, I'll handle Slade.'

'Be careful…'

Beast Boy quickly transformed into a T-Rex and pounded quickly towards Slade, attempting to take a huge bite out of him. Trigon, using Slade's speed merely stepped aside and jumped, attempting to bring his staff down on his head. Beast Boy, thinking quickly, changed into a humming bird, and began to fly around Slade, pecking him as he fell back to the ground.

Trigon, now frustrated, having landed, reached out his hand where he believed Beast Boy to be, and was surprised to find that he wasn't there. Beast Boy had instead transformed again, into a hippopotamus, which was now poised over Slade.

He came crashing down, hitting his mark, crushing Trigon with his weight. It didn't seem to do much, as Slade threw him aside quickly after recovering.

Beast Boy made a quick change again, transforming into a Panther, and using the wall he was about to hit, to launch himself back at Slade, claws extended.

Slade attempted to side step, but was caught across the chest by a large and sharp claw. Blood seeped out, though it was black, not red.

Slade, angered, shouted at the top of his lungs, fiery chains shooting out from behind him. The chains began searching for targets, attaching to walls and grabbing a Titan if they got too close.

After the shouting subsided from Slade, all but three had been caught. Ravager, Raven, and Beast Boy stood nearby Slade, while Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Jinx struggled, screaming in pain.

"Stop it!" Ravager yelled, "DAD, HELP US!"

Slade began to laugh, "Pitiful little girl, your father is dead."

"NO! He would never give in to you!"

Slade laughed, Trigon's demonic sounds coming through on the end of the laugh. He twirled his staff, assuming a battle stance. Ravager withdrew her second katana. "Let me handle him," she said, turning towards Beast Boy and Raven.

They both nodded and began to turn to see if they could remove the bonds that were holding their friends.

"It's just you and me, and if you read my father's memories, I'm pretty good."

"You are, but you have no chance against me."

"Shall we test that?" She lunged, running full speed at Slade. She leapt over his first sweep, which was aimed at her legs, and landed behind him. She spun, swinging both swords, attempting to slice the tendons in his back and arms, stopping him from attacking.

The staff, even though it was extremely heavy, could be heard clanging on her katanas. She hadn't seen it. In no time at all, Slade had spun the staff from the sweep into a position behind him, protecting his back. After deflecting, the two engaged in a light speed exchange of blows. Ravager was having trouble keeping up with him. This wasn't just her father's skills, and speed, it was Trigon's as well. The staff he was using was too heavy to counter against. It took all of her strength just to deflect his hits.

She was focusing on predicating his moves, which was getting harder. He had apparently figured out that she was reading his moved and began to randomize it, almost assuming a drunk fighting stance. He was staring to push her back. Blow after blow, deflected, though her strength was failing her.

Trigon saw an opening, and took it, stabbing her through the abdomen with his staff. Both blades fell to the ground, her hands now supporting herself by holding the staff.

He lifted her up, almost holding her at a ninety degree angle, and shot her off his staff with a torrent of energy similar to what had hit Beast Boy.

Ravager's body flew, landing twenty feet away, closer to where Beast Boy and Raven were attempting to free the Titans, who had been knocked out, or choked out by the chains.

"NO!" Beast Boy shouted, running to Ravager's side. He surveyed the damage. She was unconscious, the hole in her stomach bleeding profusely. Raven ran over to join him and shoved him aside, and began to heal her.

He got up, and turned towards Slade. "Why?"

"All of you will die."

"No. We. Won't!" He said, changing swiftly into a silverback gorilla, and changing at him.

Slade merely chuckled, sidestepped the hit, and shot Beast Boy into the wall with another torrent. Chains attached themselves to where Beast Boy was now indented into the wall, sealing him in place as he screamed in pain.

Raven looked up, still attempting to seal the wounds on Ravager. She didn't see Beast Boy until she looked up and saw him immobilized on the wall, screaming in pain. That was it, she had enough. Raven sealed the wound quickly so Ravager wouldn't bleed out, and then stood up.

"Yes, daughter."

"You won't get away with hurting him."

"I already have, what do you plan to do?"

"I'm going to finish you, forever."

Raven began to change forms. Her eyes split into four red glowing eyes, and darkness surrounding every part of her. She grew to at least fifteen feet and horrendous tentacles from a dimension unknown emerged. Her teeth sharped and her voice echoed in the deepest demonic sense that could be allowed through human vocal chords.

She had lost all sense of control. The only thing that was going on through her mind was that she had to save her boyfriend. Her tentacles shot out, grasping for Slade. She would drag him back into her cloak, which housed the void. As the tentacles got near, they were sliced off by the power of the attack from Slade's staff.

Once he was in the clear, Trigon aimed his staff at Raven. He focused, his form cloaking itself in fire. The energy surrounding Slade focused into the end of his staff, and he took aim and fired. The blast was enough to be seen from space. The entire alley that was there had been disintegrated. The only thing left behind was a badly burnt body, in a purple cloak. The other Titans had been blown back out of the chains, and Beast Boy was the only one spared from the blast, as he was locked into the wall slightly behind Slade. Ravager had been shielded by Raven as the blast landed and she hadn't moved.

"Why…" Beast Boy mumbled, the pain so intense he could barely form the words. Tears streaked down his face.

"This realm provides no challenge to Trigon the Terri…"

Trigon froze. He grabbed at his head, screaming. His mask was ripped off. The two red eyes and the eye patch could be seen. The second red eye, was sealing itself. Time passed, as Trigon fell to his knees, screaming as the aura around him dimmed and eventually vanished.

He looked up, and saw the devastation, as well as the people around him. He looked behind him, the bright blue eye now seeing Beast Boy, who had fallen out of the chains, which were slowly disappearing. Slade stood up, and began to slowly walk towards Raven and checked to see if she was still alive. Satisfied she was, he walked farther past and saw his daughter.

"Rose…"

He stumbled and fell down next to her, "I'm so sorry…"

She didn't move, she was knocked out cold from the blast. Demonic energy still coursed through her veins. It would be a struggle, but she had a chance of recovering.

He stood back up, and walked past Beast Boy who was now trying to wake Raven up, though it was futile. The amount of energy that had hit her was enough to destroy a normal person. Slade fumbled past them and back to where the staff was.

Beast Boy noticed and prepared to fight again, willing to do anything to prevent more damage coming to his friends.

Slade picked it up, and looked over his shoulder at Beast Boy.

"I'm sorry, and please tell Rose."

Without waiting for a response, he lifted the staff up, and rammed the sharp end through his chest. Falling instantly to the ground.


End file.
